On a Tuesday night in April 2020, officers in St. Louis, Missouri, discovered the body of a young female victim lying on a sidewalk along Franklin Avenue in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. The deceased, who had suffered a fatal gunshot wound, carried no identification, leading authorities to initially label her as a Jane Doe. Investigators released descriptions of her clothing—olive-green pants and red-and-white Nike sneakers—in hopes of learning her identity.
Two days later, family members identified the victim as 18-year-old Carieal Doss. A senior at Parkway West High School, she was a spirited student and McDonald’s employee who had planned to attend Illinois State University to play basketball. Detectives determined that she had likely been killed at a different location before her body was left on the sidewalk.
Nearly a year after the murder, police arrested a suspect, Levi Henning, charging him with first-degree murder in connection with the death of the 18-year-old. Henning spent approximately three years in jail awaiting trial. However, the case against him unraveled in March 2023 when the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges. Reports indicated that the dismissal stemmed from issues regarding the handling of evidence, with Henning’s defense attorney alleging that prosecutors had withheld exculpatory information that pointed to a different potential suspect. Consequently, Henning was released from custody without a conviction for the crime.
Following the collapse of the legal case, the victim’s brother, Jacorren Riley, took matters into his own hands. In June 2023, just months after Henning’s release, Riley encountered Henning in the city’s West End neighborhood. Surveillance footage reportedly captured Riley chasing Henning and firing shots, ultimately standing over him and delivering a final fatal shot. Henning died from his injuries, and Riley was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the retaliatory killing.
In court proceedings held in June 2024, Riley accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. During the hearing, he expressed that he felt the justice system had failed his sister and that he had sought to obtain justice on his own, though he admitted he would undo his actions if he could. The judge sentenced Riley to ten years in prison. During the sentencing, prosecutors noted that Henning's father held no animosity toward Riley, acknowledging the profound pain suffered by both families involved in the cycle of violence.
