In the late hours of November 30, 2022, the life of 50-year-old Rudy Boykins, a male, came to a tragic end in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood. His body was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds behind a warehouse located at 1514 North 13th Street. The grim scene was situated within the grounds of what police described as an otherwise unoccupied homeless encampment.
An alert from the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system initially drew law enforcement to the area, where they found Boykins, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting led authorities to release surveillance footage to the public in an effort to identify a person of interest. This move proved crucial, as tips from the community began to point towards an individual named Joseph Baylark III. Following these leads, police located and interviewed Baylark. During questioning, he reportedly admitted to being the person seen in the video footage. A search of his residence further solidified the case against him when investigators found clothing that matched what the individual in the video was wearing. Although he initially denied his involvement in the killing, he later confessed to the shooting.
Following his arrest, Joseph Baylark III, who was 26 years old at the time, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with Rudy Boykins' death. However, in a development that occurred just a week before the case was scheduled to go to trial, Baylark accepted a plea agreement. On March 21, 2025, he pleaded guilty to the amended charge of voluntary manslaughter, and the armed criminal action charge was dismissed. As a result of his plea, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting.
