On a Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis, 27-year-old Ashley Marie Townsend was fatally shot in a double homicide. The incident occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. on April 2, 2014. Townsend and a companion, 35-year-old Michael Hennings, were sitting in a parked car in the 1900 block of Belt Avenue when they were gunned down.
Both Townsend and Hennings sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body. They were pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. Witnesses reported that the suspect approached the vehicle on foot, suggesting a targeted attack rather than a random act of violence or a drive-by shooting.
Despite the brutal nature of the crime, which took place across from a middle school, no arrests have been made in the years following the murders. The case of Ashley Marie Townsend and Michael Hennings remains an open and unsolved investigation. Law enforcement has periodically asked for the public's assistance, urging anyone with information to come forward to help bring resolution to the families of the victims. The lack of closure in this case reflects a broader challenge in the city, which has a significant number of unsolved homicides.
