On the evening of April 30, 2024, a fatal domestic incident occurred in the Kingsway West neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. DeMarko Laron Henderson, a 31-year-old Black male, was killed inside a residence in the 5100 block of Lexington Avenue. The shooting took place during a confrontation between Henderson and his father, with whom he had a strained relationship.
According to reports, DeMarko Henderson arrived at his father's home with his 11-year-old daughter. A dispute arose after they accidentally woke his father, Tekeia Henderson, who had been sleeping. The argument escalated into a physical altercation. During the conflict, Tekeia Henderson produced a firearm and shot his son twice at close range in the chest and head. The victim's young daughter was present in the room and witnessed the shooting, later running to a neighbor’s house to seek help and report that her grandfather had killed her father.
Police arrived at the scene to find DeMarko Henderson deceased. Tekeia Henderson, then 48, was taken into custody. Initially, he claimed the shooting was accidental and occurred while they were struggling over the weapon, asserting he had armed himself for self-defense. However, forensic evidence and witness testimony, including that of the victim's daughter and Tekeia's girlfriend, contradicted his account. The investigation revealed that Tekeia had been drinking earlier that day and that the shooting happened after the physical fight had been broken up.
In June 2025, a St. Louis jury found Tekeia Henderson guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Prosecutors emphasized the lack of justification for the violence, noting that the defendant shot his son as he was preparing to leave. On July 18, 2025, Tekeia Henderson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, plus an additional consecutive ten-year term for the armed criminal action.
