In the spring of 2015, the lives of two sisters from St. Louis were tragically cut short, leaving a family and a community searching for answers that have yet to come. On the morning of Sunday, May 3, 2015, the bodies of 15-year-old Tahnaizja Smith and her 20-year-old sister, Antquonette Hale, were discovered in a vacant lot in the 3000 block of North Vandeventer Avenue. The sisters, who were residents of north St.
Louis County, had been fatally shot.
Police were called to the scene just after midnight after witnesses reported hearing gunshots. When officers arrived, they found the two young women lying in the field. Tahnaizja, a female, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her face, arm, and chest. Antquonette had been shot in the back. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, their lives ended in a brutal act of violence that remains a mystery. The sisters were remembered by family as happy and loving, though their grandmother acknowledged they had been hanging out with the wrong crowd.
In the immediate aftermath of the double homicide, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department appealed to the public for assistance, stating they had no information regarding a suspect or suspects. Investigators were unable to immediately determine a motive for the killings. The case was highlighted by St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers, with a reward offered for any information that could lead to an arrest.
Despite the passage of time, the case remains an open and unsolved homicide. There have been no public announcements regarding any arrests, charges, or the identification of any suspects in connection with the murders of Tahnaizja Smith and Antquonette Hale. The absence of a resolution continues to leave their family with unanswered questions and a community still waiting for justice for the two young sisters whose futures were stolen from them.
