ST. LOUIS 鈥 Samantha Hampton pulled up to her twin sister鈥檚 apartment building in Clayton鈥檚 Clayshire neighborhood Wednesday morning on her way to dropping off her sons for school. She and her sister then would head to work.
But Samantha immediately saw something with her sister, Michelle Hampton, that frightened her. Michelle was in her SUV, looking petrified, with a masked man in the passenger seat. A yellow truck, occupied by men also wearing masks, had blocked in Michelle鈥檚 vehicle.
Michelle Hampton, in a photo provided by her family.
鈥淪he was able to roll down the window and scream at me, 鈥楽am no!鈥 to let me know something was wrong,鈥 Samantha said.
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Michelle drove off, and Samantha chased behind, with the yellow truck on her tail.
鈥淚 called 911 right away 鈥 immediately,鈥 Samantha said.
What followed was a harrowing attempt to keep up with her sister鈥檚 white Nissan Rogue, while frantically trying to get help from police. The yellow truck, she said, tried to run her off the road. Twice, her 911 calls were dropped, she said, as police 鈥渃ould have just listened and tried to help.鈥
Samantha said she eventually lost track of her sister when the gunman riding with Michelle shot at Samantha鈥檚 car.
An abandoned home backs up to an alley north of the 4700 block of Greer Avenue on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, where Michelle Hampton was found shot to death in the Kingshighway East neighborhood in 最新杏吧原创.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, four hours after the reported abduction, Michelle was found shot to death in an alley in the 4700 block of Greer Avenue in 最新杏吧原创. The site is in the Kingsway East neighborhood in north 最新杏吧原创, and 8 miles from her Clayton apartment in the 8100 block of Whitburn Drive.
Detectives worked all night Wednesday on the case but still had no one in custody as of Thursday afternoon. Michelle鈥檚 vehicle was 鈥渜uickly recovered鈥 after the shooting, while detectives also seized a 鈥渧ehicle of interest鈥 Wednesday night, according to 最新杏吧原创 police.
Clayton police said the victim was 鈥渟pecifically targeted and there are no indications of any further threat to the Clayton community.鈥 They also said she entered her SUV 鈥渦nder suspicious circumstances.鈥
Investigators are trying to determine if Michelle knew the suspects. It appears the gunman forced her to stop at ATMs.
最新杏吧原创 police spokesman Mitch McCoy said detectives also are trying to learn more about the 鈥渆ncounter鈥 before Michelle got into her SUV and hope to piece together details of what transpired during the four hours before she was killed.
Brad Wilson, executive director of East Central Dispatch Center, which handles 911 dispatch for Clayton and other municipalities, declined to comment because the investigation was still active.
The family of Michelle, 37, believes police did not work quickly enough to intervene.
鈥淚 honestly feel like they failed,鈥 Samantha said.
鈥楰ept telling me they can鈥檛 help鈥
When her sister drove away shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, Samantha followed the vehicle for several miles. Along the way, she talked with dispatchers in both 最新杏吧原创 County and 最新杏吧原创 city.
On one call, Samantha said, the 911 operator 鈥渉ung up on me. So I keep calling back and getting somebody new.鈥
As she barreled down Interstate 64, Samantha told the dispatcher, 鈥淪omething is wrong. Somebody has my sister. I鈥檓 following them.鈥
The 911 operator asked if she was reporting road rage. She said no. The operator asked for her location. At one point, when Samantha was nearing Hampton Avenue, the county 911 operator transferred her call to a 最新杏吧原创 dispatcher.
鈥淭hey kept telling me they can鈥檛 help unless I stop or pull up to a police station,鈥 Samantha said. 鈥淚鈥檓 telling them I can鈥檛 stop because they鈥檙e driving off with her. I鈥檓 not leaving her. And the phone hung up again.鈥
Near Euclid and Enright avenues, the gunman in her sister鈥檚 SUV shot at Samantha鈥檚 car, hitting a window. Neither Samantha nor her twin 15-year-old sons in the car with her were injured.
She lost track of her sister鈥檚 vehicle and pulled off at a gas station along Kingshighway, calling 911 again.
鈥淕o get her right now!鈥 Samantha said she yelled at police. 鈥淗er phone is still pinging.鈥
Samantha was tracking her sister鈥檚 cell phone via the Life360 phone app. Police later found the phone on the front porch of a house on Euclid, she said.
When the officers came to her at the gas station, she said, they argued in front of her about what steps to take. She heard one officer say the response was 鈥渓azy.鈥
McCoy, the 最新杏吧原创 police spokesman, said officers worked to find Michelle Hampton as soon as her vehicle entered the city.
鈥淣o one in the world would want to find a victim in need of help more than a police officer,鈥 McCoy said.
The SUV鈥檚 license plate was picked up once or twice by license plate readers, he said, though it鈥檚 unclear if that was done before or after the body was discovered.
The SUV was found abandoned near Euclid.
Crime scene tape sits discarded in a pile of leaves in an alley just north of the 4700 block of Greer Avenue on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in the Kingshighway East neighborhood in 最新杏吧原创. Nearby, police found Michelle Hampton shot to death.
鈥楽he was my support鈥
Michelle was the mother of a 14-year-old girl. She also adopted Samantha鈥檚 twin teenage boys and 7-year-old son.
Michelle was vice president of operations at Beaver Industrial Supply, a tool store in The Hill neighborhood. Samantha worked in sales for the company.
鈥淪he was everything to me,鈥 Samantha said. 鈥淲ithout her, there鈥檚 no me. She was my support.鈥
The sisters were identical twins.
In 1987, they were the first twins born at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis. The story made headlines. Years later, an article featured the family again when Samantha gave birth to twin boys at the same hospital, delivered by the same doctor.
Michelle Hampton, left, and Samantha Hampton are shown in this family photo from Dec. 31, 2008, after Samantha's twin sons were born.
Colleen Hayden, a co-worker at the tool company, said Michelle Hampton was her best friend.
鈥淪he was so kind and really witty. We would joke around all the time,鈥 Hayden said.
On their last day working together, Hayden and Michelle swapped stories about their children.
Being a mom 鈥渨as probably her favorite thing,鈥 Hayden said.
Hayden said the employees who came to work Thursday were in shock. 鈥淚t is hard to be here,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard.鈥
Michelle Hampton鈥檚 Clayton apartment is seen in the 8100 block of Whitburn Drive, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Hampton was abducted from the location and found shot to death hours later in the Kingshighway East neighborhood of 最新杏吧原创.
On Thursday afternoon, Samantha planned to speak with detectives again and go to the 最新杏吧原创 Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office to identify her sister鈥檚 body.
McCoy asked anyone with information to contact 最新杏吧原创 homicide detectives at 314-444-5371. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous, or are interested in a possible reward, can call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
A through GoFundMe has been set up by Tamara Abdelaal, another sister of the Hampton twins. Contributions would help pay funeral expenses and to care for Michelle鈥檚 daughter and the three nephews she adopted.
Nassim Benchaabane and Dana Rieck of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed to this report.
The 最新杏吧原创 Post-Dispatch tracks the data behind reported homicides on an interactive map that allows readers to explore information in various ways.
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