Authorities: a man killed by a girlfriend, his children and his mother

A man from the Saint-Louis region shot dead his girlfriend, two young children and his mother in their common home, authorities said Saturday. He exchanged shots with police officers while he was running away and was captured several hours later in a storehouse covered with blood and injured.

Prosecutors brought 15 charges against Richard Darren Emery of St. Charles, Missouri, including first degree murder and assault. and attempted theft. Authorities said that Emery, 46, had abandoned his own van and had tried in vain to steal a woman's car while he was running away, the attacker also.

Emery remained in a local hospital with two gunshot wounds that the authorities apparently did not inflict. and most likely came from the shootings with officers. St. Charles County Attorney Public Prosecutor Tim Lohmar said the investigators did not know the reason for the shooting on Saturday night.

"We may never know," said Lohmar at a press conference. "This one in particular was the worst example of a domestic violence case. Whenever you have a domestic violence case, you worry about the safety of the victim, and that would be your worst nightmare. "

St. Charles is a town of about 70,000 people located on the Missouri River, northwest of St. Louis. Officials said that incidents of deadly domestic violence had recently occurred, with six deaths in the last eight days unrelated to Lohmar's report.

Officials said police received a call shortly before midnight Friday about a shootout at the house where Emery and the victims were living. Lohmar said police officers later found three victims of gunshot wounds in a bedroom. They were Zoe Kasten, 8 years old; his brother, Jonathan Kasten, 10 years old; and their grandmother, Jane Moeckel, 61 years old.

Officers found the fourth victim, a 39-year-old woman, in the master bedroom of the house, suffering gunshot wounds but still alive, Lohmar said. She was taken to a local hospital where she died.

The authorities did not name the fourth victim, but described her as the children's mother, the older woman's daughter, and Emery's girlfriend.

The initial appeal was launched to the police. Lohmar said the investigators thought Moeckel had made it.

"During this phone call, the 911 operator could hear gunshots in the background," said Lt. Tom Wilkison of the St. Charles Police.

According to Lohmar, Emery tried to escape to his van and was stopped by a police car. The police and he exchanged fire and he escaped on foot.

Authorities described her attempted theft of another vehicle as a car hijacking and reported that she had stabbed her driver seven times. They claimed that his injuries were not life threatening.

The area is forested and Lohmar said that Emery had been able to escape the police in the dark. But when he sought refuge in the bathroom of the convenience store a few miles away, an employee contacted the police, said Lohmar.

Each of the charges against Emery is punishable by 30 years in prison, Lohmar added. Under Missouri law, Missouri law is an option.

"It is premature for us to make a statement on this subject right now, but I can tell you that it sounds like a death sentence and that it feels like a death sentence. case, "he said.