Darren Arnell Paynes was 24 years old when he was killed in St. Louis on Sunday, March 11, 2007. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated his death, and the Washington Post's homicide database, which tracked killings in St. Louis through 2017, lists it as a homicide that remained open with no arrest.
A little more about Darren Arnell Paynes can be found in a Forever Missed memorial page created for him. It says he was born on May 20, 1982, in St. Louis, and that he died there on March 13, 2007, at the age of 24. That date is two days after the date recorded in the Post's database, which may mean he was attacked on March 11 and died two days later, though no public source confirms how he died or where he spent his last days.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public.
The record does not say how he was killed, whether he was attacked indoors or on the street, whether he knew his attacker, what time of day it happened, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether anyone else was hurt. It does not say whether investigators ever identified a suspect or a motive.
Darren Arnell Paynes's name also appears in a 2018 Washington Post investigation that listed thousands of homicide victims across major American cities whose killings had not led to an arrest. Being on that list means that, a decade after his death, the case was still counted among those for which no one had been arrested.
He was 24, a native of St. Louis who had spent his whole life in the city. His case is also listed as active on CrimeTea, an online database of unsolved cases, which records March 11, 2007 as the date he was found.
His full name, Darren Arnell Paynes, is unusual enough that the few records found appear to be about him. Even so, no news report of his killing could be found.
The location recorded in the database places his death in north St. Louis, several miles north of downtown. The killing of Terrence M Arnett two months earlier, in January 2007, is placed within about a block of the same spot. People who lived in that area in March 2007 may remember the police activity that followed.
St. Louis has long had one of the highest homicide rates of any large American city. The city recorded 138 homicides in 2007 and 167 in 2008, at a time when it had roughly 350,000 residents, and many of those killings never led to an arrest. Homicide detectives carried heavy caseloads, and cases with few public details, like this one, often faded from view quickly.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Darren Arnell Paynes could be found in news archives or public records. More than 19 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Darren Paynes, saw him around March 11, 2007, or heard talk afterward of what happened to him may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a car seen leaving the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Division at 314-444-5371, or leave an anonymous tip with CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (866-371-8477).
