Two Teens Charged in Killings of Five Relatives in East St. Louis

A 15-year-old girl and Ja’ymier Davis, 16, have been charged with the shooting deaths of five relatives in East St. Louis, Illinois. The bodies of Patricia May, 74; Devin May, 24; Cherie May, 49; Quentin Thompson, 21; and Shania Thompson, 25, were discovered on Sunday.

Cherie May was killed several days earlier than the other four victims. The killings took place in three separate locations. Davis faces 12 charges in St. Clair County criminal court, including five counts of first-degree murder, dismemberment, aggravated battery, and vehicular hijacking.

He is being prosecuted as an adult. The girl is charged with first-degree murder in juvenile court. Prosecutors are seeking to transfer her case to adult court. Court documents describe Instagram messages in which Davis wrote that the girl’s aunt would be easy to confront at gunpoint and stab.

The girl allegedly replied that she could do that and that she loved blood, then added that she was willing to lose her whole family for him. The girl is accused of luring her grandmother, Patricia May, to a location where Davis hid in a closet. Davis allegedly shot her in the head and severed her thumb to unlock her iPhone.

The girl had stolen her aunt’s gun early the previous week, and that weapon was used in the attacks. Two other relatives were shot and seriously wounded but are expected to survive. The dispute allegedly began after the family decided to remove the girl from school and homeschool her.

The Instagram messages were read out in court on Wednesday.