On January 8, 2012, police in St. Louis, Missouri, discovered a grim scene in the city's North Side neighborhood involving a double homicide. Officers were called to the 8900 block of Annetta Street where they found a vehicle parked with two occupants inside who were unresponsive. Upon closer inspection, authorities identified the victims as 35-year-old male LeShaun Holmes and his acquaintance, Lonnell Dortch, who was also 35. Both men had sustained fatal gunshot wounds while sitting inside Holmes's car.
Investigators at the scene determined that the shooting appeared to be the result of a robbery. Neither Holmes nor Dortch resided in the immediate area where the crime occurred, and family members were later left with unanswered questions regarding why the two men were at that specific location on Annetta Street. The murders left the community and the victims' families devastated, leading to a public plea for answers. In the years following the incident, relatives, including Holmes's sister and Dortch's niece, held vigils at the site of the shooting to keep the memory of the victims alive and to urge witnesses to come forward.
Despite the efforts of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and pleas from the grieving families, the case has remained unsolved for over a decade. As of the most recent reports available from St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers, the double homicide is still classified as an open investigation. No suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with the deaths of LeShaun Holmes and Lonnell Dortch. Authorities continue to ask anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers, hoping that a tip might eventually lead to a break in the cold case.
