ST. LOUIS, MO (February 7, 2024) — Ronald Marr, 36, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 30-year-old Kanisha Hemphill and her two young daughters on February 4, 2021, in the 4100 block of South Grand Avenue in the city’s Dutchtown neighborhood.

On the day of the murders, St. Louis Metropolitan Police responded to a 911 call from a witness who heard shots fired and saw Marr leaving the apartment. Hemphill and her children, Journee, 8, and Ja’kari, 1, were found dead inside the apartment from multiple gunshot wounds. Marr told a witness that his former girlfriend “was going to die.” She had recently served him with paperwork for paternity testing.

After the shooting, Marr bought a bus ticket to Ohio. Police and U.S. Marshalls were able to apprehend Marr when the bus stopped in Effingham, Illinois, about 100 miles from St. Louis. Marr initially said he did not know Hemphill, that he had been in Effingham for a week, and denied knowledge of the shooting.

“The cold-blooded killing of three innocent victims, including two children, is a devastating tragedy for this family,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “The diligence of our team achieved a fitting verdict that will keep their killer behind bars for the rest of his life.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorney Jeremy Crowley, who heads the office’s Special Victims Unit, and Assistant Circuit Attorney Sydney Beecher.

A jury found Marr guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of armed criminal action. Punishment for first-degree murder is life without parole. Sentencing is scheduled for March 8, 2024.

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