Rey Garcia-Carmona was 37 years old when he was killed in St. Louis on Sunday, July 16, 2017. 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.
Beyond his name, his age and the date of his death, almost nothing about Rey Garcia-Carmona has been made public. No news story about the killing, obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this account. He surely had family, friends and neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
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 the attacker, what time of day it happened, or whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital.
It does not say whether anyone else was hurt or whether investigators ever identified a suspect or a motive.
He is listed in the database as Hispanic, and Hispanic residents made up only a small share of homicide victims in St. Louis in those years. His double surname, Garcia-Carmona, follows a naming custom common in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries. If he had recently arrived in the city or had family abroad, relatives may have had trouble learning what happened, and some people who knew him may have been reluctant to approach police.
Searches for his name turn up nothing connected to St. Louis. Both of his surnames are common, and the name may also appear in other records as Rey Garcia or Rey Carmona, which makes it harder to find any trace of the man who died in 2017.
The location recorded in the database places his death on the south side of St. Louis, in an area of brick homes and small businesses in the general area of the Bevo Mill neighborhood. South St. Louis is home to many immigrant families and businesses, and people who live and work there may remember him or the police activity that followed his death.
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. Cases with few public details, like his, often faded from view quickly.
St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers keeps a public list of open homicides and accepts tips without asking for a caller's name, and a tip that leads to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Rey Garcia-Carmona could be found in news archives or public records. More than 9 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Rey Garcia-Carmona, worked with him, or heard talk in the community about what happened to him in July 2017 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).
