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St. Louis Man Faces Prison for Concealing a Dead Body for 5 Days

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A St. Louis man’s new acquaintance dropped dead of a drug overdose in his Dutchtown living room last April.

But it’s what happened after the man’s death that landed 48-year-old David Thompson in court yesterday, on trial for felony abandonment of a corpse, a crime that can carry as stiff a penalty as four years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Thompson wrapped the dead man’s body in industrial plastic sheeting, then in a layer of Saran wrap. He rolled that into two carpets, securing it all with rope. He allegedly waited five days before taking the body out to a nearby parking pad.

The next morning Thompson took his dog for a walk around the block and noticed “something wrapped up” in a rug laying out on the parking pad. He told police that he didn’t realize that there was a body in the rolled-up rug, but because he thought it looked strange he thought it best to call 911.

One of the first people to take the stand for the prosecution yesterday was David Rudolph, the St. Louis homicide detective who responded to Thompson’s call. Prosecutors Jessica Vestal and Bret Rich played for the jury Rudolph’s body cam footage from the scene, which showed the detective growing more and more suspicious of Thompson as the morning wore on.

One of the carpets the dead man was wrapped in was frayed at its edges, Rudolph testified, and a trail of carpet fabric led directly from Thompson’s apartment, down the stairs and to where the rolled-up body had been left. In the basement of the building where Thompson lived, there was a rug-shaped outline where it seemed there had until very recently been some sort of floor covering.

When Rudolph searched Thompson’s house, the first thing he noticed was that the apartment’s window was open — not an unusual thing in and of itself in April, but also indicative of someone possibly trying to get the stench out of a place.

In the bathroom, Rudolph discovered a mop bucket with a bunch of wet, dirty towels. He found a shoe on Thomoson’s shoe rack with carpet fibers stuck in the tread.

The shoe, Thompson told Rudolph, belonged to his ex-husband, who was frequently homeless and who Thompson hadn’t seen in nine months, but whom Thompson claimed had recently showed up at his apartment.

After initially denying knowing who was rolled up in the carpet, Thompson eventually acknowledged it was a man named Glenn Williams. Thompson said he met him on North Grand and had him over to his house. They watched TV and listened to music. Williams tried on clothes and talked about getting connected to resources to get a job. He then began acting erratically, and at some point died.

In Thompson’s interviews with Rudolph at the police station, Thompson said he didn’t call 911 sooner because he was worried about a separate case pending against him at that time, as well as concerns about his landlord.

He also blamed both the overdose and delay in reporting of the death on his recently re-appeared ex-husband, a man who prosecutors say there was no evidence was ever at the scene other than Thompson’s word.

When Thompson’s defense attorney Matthew Mueller questioned Rudolph, it was unclear to what extent, if any, the police had tried to locate Thompson’s ex-husband as part of their investigation.

Mueller also challenged the idea that his client should have been charged at all, given that he was the one who ultimately called 911. He put this question directly to Rudolph during cross examination.

The detective retorted that Thompson waited five days to report the death — and even then he hadn’t called 911 about a dead person. He’d called, Rudolph noted, to report “a suspicious rug.”

In addition to Rudolph, the medical examiner took the stand and confirmed Williams died of a fentanyl overdose.

It is unknown if Thompson will take the stand in his own defense. The trial is expected to wrap up later today.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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