ST. LOUIS — Police on Thursday afternoon said they had seized a 'vehicle of interest' in the abduction and shooting death of a Clayton woman.
A ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ police spokesman also confirmed the identity of the victim, 37-year-old Michelle Hampton. Even though police did not initially release her name, family members previously had identified Hampton as the victim.
Hampton was abducted Wednesday morning by men wearing masks outside her apartment complex in the Clayshire neighborhood of Clayton, according to police and her sister.
Michelle Hampton, in a photo provided by her family.
Samantha Hampton said she pulled up to the apartment building and saw Michelle in her SUV, looking petrified. A masked man was in the passenger seat. A yellow truck, occupied by men also wearing masks, had blocked in Michelle's vehicle.
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Michelle drove off, and Samantha said she chased behind, with the yellow truck on her tail.
Samantha said she eventually lost track of her sister when the gunman riding with Michelle shot at Samantha's car.
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 ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´. The scene is in the Kingsway East neighborhood in north ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´, and 8 miles from her Clayton apartment in the 8100 block of Whitburn Drive.
Michelle's vehicle was "quickly recovered" after the shooting, while detectives later seized a "vehicle of interest," according to ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ police.
Investigators are trying to determine if Michelle knew the suspects. It appears the gunman forced her to stop at ATMs.
Clayton police said Michelle was "specifically targeted and there are no indications of any further threat to the Clayton community."
This is the alley north of the 4700 block of Greer Avenue, in the Kingshighway East neighborhood in ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´, where police found Michelle Hampton's body after she had been abducted from her Clayton apartment building.
×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ consistently lands on lists of most dangerous cities, but readers need to carefully look at how such lists are prepared.
