Insets, from left: Kiyomi Parker (GoFundMe) and Ca'Marion Pawnell (St. Louis Justice Center). Background: Police investigate after a 10-year-old boy shot a baby in St. Louis, Mo. (KSDK).
A Missouri grand jury declined to indict a 19-year-old father for murder after he allegedly left a loaded gun under a mattress that was used by a 10-year-old boy to shoot a baby dead — but other charges remain.
The grand jury returned a "no true bill" on a second-degree murder charge against Ca'Marion Pawnell in the death of 7-month-old Kiyomi Parker. But Pawnell is still facing charges of first-degree child endangerment resulting in death and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child by creating substantial risk.
A 10-year-old Missouri boy found a gun under a mattress and fatally shot Kiyomi in the head, leading to murder charges against the boy and the infant's father. The 10-year-old boy is facing a first-degree murder charge in juvenile court. The boy, who has since turned 11, was reportedly ordered to receive treatment at a state facility as the case moves through the system.
Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department responded just after 4 p.m. on June 26 to a home in the 8400 block of N. Broadway for a shooting. When they arrived, they found baby Kiyomi suffering from a gunshot wound.
With no time to wait for an ambulance, cops placed the baby into their police cruiser and rushed her to a hospital, where doctors later pronounced her dead.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the boy knew that Pawnell had a gun under the mattress in a bedroom and had taken it out to play with before. On this occasion, the boy allegedly pulled out the gun and shot Kiyomi in the head.
In an interview with detectives, Pawnell admitted that he owned the gun and that he stored it under the bed, the affidavit said.
Police said a 7-year-old also was inside the home at the time of the shooting.
Cops did not name the shooter since he was charged as a juvenile. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that under Missouri law, only juveniles over the age of 12 can stand trial as adults.
In a GoFundMe, Kiyomi's mother, Janyla Parker, said she lost her daughter to a "senseless act of gun violence."
"No parent should ever have to experience this kind of heartbreak," she wrote.
Pawnell remains at the St. Louis Justice Center without bond. His next court date is set for Aug. 3.
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