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ST. CHARLES, MB (AP) – According to a prosecutor, a man from the St. Louis area accused of shooting his girlfriend, his two young children and his mother could be sentenced to death once 39, investigation completed.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the authorities are still investigating what led to the shooting on Friday night. Richard Darren Emery, of St. Charles, Missouri, faces 15 charges, including one of first degree murder.
Emery, who often wears his first name, Darren, exchanged shots with agents while he was running away. He was captured several hours later – wounded and covered with blood.
St. Charles is a town of about 70,000 people located on the Missouri River, northwest of St. Louis.
A vigil was planned Sunday evening to pay tribute to the victims: Jane Moeckel (61), Kate Kasten (39), Zoe Kasten (8) and Jonathan Kasten (10).
Emery remained in a local hospital with two gunshot wounds that, according to the authorities, do not appear to have been inflicted on himself and are probably due to the shooting with officers.
St. Charles County District Attorney Tim Lohmar said the investigators did not know the reason for the shooting from Saturday night.
"We may never know it," said Lohmar at a previous press conference. "This one in particular was the worst example of a domestic violence case.Every time you have a domestic violence case, you worry about the safety of the victim, and that would be your worst nightmare."
The initial call to the police arrived from inside the house and Lohmar said the investigators thought Moeckel had done so.
"During this phone call, the 911 operator could hear gunshots in the background," said Lt. Tom Wilkison of the St. Charles Police.
Lohmar testified that 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 said his injuries were not life threatening.
The area is forested and Lohmar said that Emery had managed to escape the police in the dark. But when he went to the convenience store bathroom a few miles away, an employee contacted police, Lohmar said.
Each of the charges against Emery is punishable by 30 years of life imprisonment, said Mr. Lohmar, adding that new charges are possible and that the death penalty is a feasible option under the law of Missouri.
"It is premature for us to make a statement on this for the moment, but I can tell you that it looks like a death penalty case," he said.
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