On the morning of August 2, 2015, authorities in St. Louis, Missouri, were alerted to a shooting in the northern section of the city. Officers responded to a call at approximately 11:15 a.m. regarding an unresponsive individual in a rear alley situated within the 5900 block of Era Avenue. Upon their arrival at the scene, first responders discovered a red 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix parked in the alleyway. The vehicle’s engine was still running, and the transmission was shifted into park, suggesting the car had been stationary for some time before police intervention.
Inside the vehicle, police found 22-year-old Kadesha M. Dawson slumped over in the driver’s seat. She had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim, known to friends and family by the nickname 'KayKay,' had been the target of what investigators classified as a homicide. The location of the discovery, a quiet alley off Era Avenue, offered few immediate clues as to the sequence of events leading up to the shooting, and there were no other occupants found in the vehicle.
In the years following her death, the case has remained an open investigation for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. As of late 2023, CrimeStoppers was still soliciting information from the public and offering a reward for leads that could result in a felony arrest, listing Kadesha’s death among several unsolved homicides from that period. Despite the passage of time, no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with her murder.
