In the early morning hours of Sunday, October 21, 2018, the quiet of a Vinita Park neighborhood in north St. Louis County was shattered by gunfire. Inside a home on the 2100 block of Penfield Avenue, a domestic dispute had escalated to a fatal confrontation. When officers from the North County Police Cooperative arrived at the scene around 1 a.m., they discovered the bodies of 35-year-old Tashonda Nesbitt, a Black female, and 45-year-old Vernon Stewart, Jr.
Both had suffered gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
As the investigation unfolded, the St. Louis Major Case Squad was called in to piece together the tragic events. Investigators determined that Stewart had shot and killed Nesbitt during a domestic quarrel. In a dramatic turn, a third individual who was present at the time of the initial shooting then shot and killed Stewart.
The identity of this third person, a male, has not been publicly released by law enforcement. However, it was reported that he was cooperating with the ongoing investigation. Authorities have publicly asked for anyone with information to come forward and contact the Major Case Squad or Crime Stoppers.
