Charges Expected Against Teen Suspects in St. Louis University Alum Murder
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Saint Louis University Athletics Department(ST. LOUIS) — Formal charges against the two 18-year-old men arrested in connection to the shooting death of volleyball player Megan Boken are expected to be announced Friday afternoon.
St. Louis circuit attorney Jennifer Joyce tweeted, “Reviewing Megan Boken homicide later this morning. Anticipate charging decision announced early afternoon, after family notified.”
Her office said Friday afternoon that the charges will be announced that day.
Boken, 23, was a former volleyball star at St. Louis University who was in town to play a match that pitted alumni against student athletes. She was shot to death while sitting in her Volkswagen on Saturday afternoon, hours before the game, police said.
On Thursday night, St. Louis police announced that they had arrested two teenage suspects in connection to the murder.
“We are confident that the guys that we have in custody are responsible for the murder,” Police Chief Dan Isoom said at a news conference.
Police attributed the arrests to “good detective work,” but would not go into details about how they identified the suspects.
The first suspect was arrested on Thursday morning in connection to some unsolved robberies, according to ABC News’ Chicago affiliate WLS-TV. The second suspect was arrested Thursday afternoon.
The arrests happened as hundreds of family and friends gathered in the West Chicago suburb of Wheton for Boken’s funeral.
On Thursday night, Boken’s father, Paul Boken, spoke to WLS-TV about the day’s events.
“We are gratified with the progress they’ve made in the case,” he said via telephone. “It was a very difficult day today, but with all the people there for us, it helped us get through it.”
Police have not identified a motive for the killing, but have said they were investigating it as a botched robbery.
“We don’t have a motive but are investigating it from a robbery standpoint,” said David Marzullo, director of public information for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Boken graduated with a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from St. Louis University in 2011.
She was wounded in the neck and chest, and pronounced dead at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. It was unclear whether the suspect had been in the car with Boken or had opened the door and fired into the car, Marzullo said.
“We have no evidence that she knew [the gunman],” he said.
Mayor Francis Slay said Boken’s death made him feel “angry and frustrated and determined.”
“I am frustrated because American cities, including ours, are awash in guns. Crime has trended down in St. Louis for the past six years in almost every category except gun violence,” Slay wrote on his blog.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio