Alfred Marshall Jr., 33, was killed in St. Louis on Monday, July 8, 2013, the same day he turned 33. The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The Washington Post's homicide database, which tracked killings in St. Louis through 2017, lists his case as a homicide that remained open with no arrest.
Very little about how he died has been made public. No news report describing the killing could be found for this account, and the database record does not say how he was killed, what time of day it happened, whether he was attacked indoors or outdoors, or whether he died at the scene or at a hospital. It does not say whether anyone else was hurt or whether police ever identified a suspect or a motive.
What is known about the investigation is limited to the database entry.
No suspect description, vehicle, person of interest or reward offer connected to his death appears in the material found for this account.
His family's obituary, published by Granberry Mortuary in St. Louis, fills in who he was. Alfred Morris Marshall Jr. was born on July 8, 1980, in St. Louis, the oldest of five children of Dagna E. Long and Alfred M. Marshall Sr. Family and friends knew him as "Li'l Al" or "Gator." He attended schools in the St. Louis City, Normandy and Wellston school districts and worked as a cook in the hotel and restaurant industry, where, the obituary says, "his employers spoke highly of his hard work ethic and bright spirit."
The obituary calls the birth of his only daughter, Alyssa, his greatest accomplishment. He left behind his mother, Dagna "Liz" Long; his father, Alfred "Fella" Marshall; his stepfather, Timothy "Skip" McGee; his grandmother, Ressie McGee; sisters and brothers; nieces and nephews; and a devoted companion, Jemika Evans. His visitation and funeral were held at the Granberry Mortuary chapel on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, with burial in Lake Charles.
The location recorded in the database places his death in the northwest part of the city, in the area of the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood near the city's western boundary with St. Louis County. It is a residential area of brick houses and side streets where neighbors on porches and sidewalks often notice cars and people passing through, especially on a summer evening.
St. Louis, a city of roughly 300,000 people, has for years had one of the highest homicide rates of any large American city. Police recorded about 120 homicides in 2013, 159 in 2014, 188 in both 2015 and 2016, and 205 in 2017, the most in roughly two decades. In many of those years, detectives solved fewer than half of the city's killings. A killing on a man's birthday, with no public account of how it happened, is the kind of case that can slip from view without help from the public.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Alfred Marshall Jr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than 13 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who celebrated his birthday with him, saw him that Monday, or heard talk afterward of what happened to "Gator" may hold the piece detectives need. 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).
