ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis teenager was certified as an adult Wednesday and charged with murder for a fatal carjacking in January 2023.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged DeShaun Harris, 15, with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Harris remains jailed without bond.
Harris is accused of killing Kay Johnson, 38, on Jan. 24 during an attempted carjacking in the alley behind the 4700 block of South Compton Avenue, in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. She was shot in front of her teenage child, police said at the time.
Just days after Johnson’s killing, police arrested Harris, then 14. A second teenager, 13, was arrested in late February.
Also in February, a task force consisting of St. Louis officers determined that a group of individuals was responsible for a series of carjackings, attempted carjackings, and robberies in south city, including Johnson’s death.