On April 29, 2019, a tragic act of violence claimed the life of Celia Korzu Kollie, an 18-year-old female of Liberian descent, in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, Missouri, which neighbors Florissant. The incident unfolded in the early afternoon when police officers responded to a distress call at a residence on the 1400 block of Annilo Drive. Upon entering the home around 1:00 p.m., authorities discovered the teenager suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
despite emergency responders arriving at the scene, she had sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival.
The investigation into the homicide moved rapidly as detectives gathered evidence from the scene. Witnesses and leads pointed law enforcement toward a specific individual who was reportedly known to the victim. It was determined that the assailant had forcibly entered the home earlier that afternoon before opening fire on the young woman. The suspect fled the scene immediately after the shooting, prompting a search of the surrounding area. Police were able to track the individual to a location less than two miles away on the 2200 block of Riverwood Place Drive, where he was taken into custody without further incident.
The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Jordan Beck. Following his arrest, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office formally charged Beck with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and two counts of armed criminal action. Authorities revealed that while the motive remained unclear, the entry into the home was forced, categorizing the event as a home invasion turned deadly. Beck was subsequently held at the St. Louis County Justice Center on a $200,000 cash-only bond as the legal proceedings commenced against him.
Celia Kollie was remembered by her community as a bright and ambitious student with a promising future. She was a freshman at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley and had aspirations of becoming a pediatrician to help children in her family's native Liberia. In the wake of her death, her family and local church community rallied to honor her memory, eventually establishing a memorial foundation in her name to support underprivileged children, reflecting the life of service she had planned to lead.
