In the early morning hours of June 19, 2016, the life of 26-year-old Mussie Ogbai Gebregziabher, a Black male, was tragically cut short in Overland, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. The incident unfolded at a residence on Leslie Avenue, where police were dispatched around 4:00 a.m. following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Gebregziabher at the front door, having sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the homicide was swiftly undertaken by the
Overland Police Department, who requested the assistance of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis. Their collaborative efforts quickly pointed to a suspect: 25-year-old Ricardo D. Cueto. It was determined that Gebregziabher and Cueto were acquainted, and an argument between the two had escalated to deadly violence, culminating in Cueto allegedly shooting Gebregziabher in the back. A witness at the scene identified Cueto as the shooter, and it was also reported that Cueto had confessed to his parents about his involvement in the shooting.
Following the incident, Cueto fled the state but was located and apprehended at a motel in Springfield, Illinois, with the assistance of the local police department. Investigators recovered a handgun from the motel room. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office subsequently charged Ricardo D. Cueto with Murder in the First Degree and Armed Criminal Action for his role in the death of Mussie Ogbai Gebregziabher. His bond was set at $500,000.
