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Victims’ Families Say St. Louis Serial Killer Should Face Them in Person | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2023

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Courtesy photo Gary Muehlberg being interviewed in prison.
Family members of the victims of alleged serial killer Gary Muehlberg are saying that Muehlberg should have to face them in court — and in person. “I think meeting all of us face to face is the least he should have to do,” says Saundra Mihan, whose 18-year-old daughter, Robyn, was abducted by Muehlberg in March 1990 and left dead on the side of a county highway four days later. “No cop-out for him,” she adds. The RFT sought comment from Mihan and other family members of Muehlberg’s victims after a hearing this morning in St. Louis County Circuit Court, during which the question of whether Muehlberg would have to appear in person in the same courtroom as victims’ families arose. Muehlberg’s public defender Stephen Reynolds conferenced with Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joanna Brueggemann and Judge Brian May on the matter. Police say that last year Muelhberg confessed to five murders committed between 1990 and 1991. In addition to Mihan, police say Muehlberg has confessed to killing Brenda Pruitt, 27; Sandy Little, 21; Donna Reitmeyer, 40; and a fifth victim who remains unidentified. In all five cases, Muehlberg picked up the women near the Southside Stroll, the city’s then red light district, brought them back to his house in north county and killed them. He then left their bodies in conspicuous containers throughout the metro area, including between a pair of mattresses in Silex, in a homemade box in O’Fallon and in plastic trash bins in St. Louis City and in Maryland Heights. The M.O. earned him the moniker The Package Killer. click to enlarge Courtesy Korky Sanders, Antinelle Pruitt, Barb Studt Three of Muehlberg’s victims: Robyn Mihan, Brenda Pruitt, Sandy Little. All three had young children when they were killed
Muehlberg’s confession is thanks to O’Fallon Police Department Sergeant Jodi Weber, who started looking into the cold case in 2008. After almost a decade and half of detective work, Weber finally matched material found with the victims’ bodies to Muehlberg’s DNA last year. Muehlberg previously said in an interview with the RFT that he wants to plead guilty to the murders and have the case adjudicated as quickly as possible. “If you can arraign me, let me enter my plea and sentence me at the same time — I’m all for it,” he said in November. He is currently serving a life sentence in Potosi Correctional Center for a murder he committed in 1993.
At this morning’s conference, the judge, prosecutor, and public defender discussed what Muelberg’s guilty plea will look like. “He’s pretty infirm,” Reynolds says of the 73-year-old Muehlberg, saying that prosecutors in St. Charles and Lincoln County believe that a video plea is “the way to do this.” However, Judge May says he wants to hear from the victims’ families before he decides if Muehlberg will have to show up to court in person or not. “In terms of the families of those individuals, what are their thoughts about in terms of if they want to make statements?” May asks. He points out that they had been waiting 30 years for closure and that while he is a big proponent of conducting some court business via Webex video conferencing, he understands the families may have opinions on the matter. “I would like to hear from these victims’ families, what their position is,” May says. Little’s stepsister Barb Studt, who Little lived with for a time prior to her killing, tells the RFT about Muehlberg, “I feel that he should have to face us all.” click to enlarge Courtesy Juanita Zills Photograph of Donna Reitmeyer, killed at the age of 40.
Little’s half-sister Geneva Talbott agrees. “I want to look him dead in the eyes. Deep into his shit soul,” she says. We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull. Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

11 months 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

11 months 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

11 months 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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