ST. LOUIS — The suspect in the kidnapping and murder of a Clayton woman was the boyfriend of the victim's sister and recently learned the victim was in possession of a $40,000 settlement, according to federal court documents that reveal new details surrounding the case.
Anjuan Mosby, 43, is facing 20 charges including first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of Michelle Hampton. He is also facing a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death.
According to documents from the U.S. District Court Eastern District, Mosby was the boyfriend of Michelle Hampton's twin sister, Samantha Hampton. The sister witnessed the kidnapping and told police during an interview she suspected her boyfriend's involvement.
Samantha said she had recently told Mosby that Michelle was holding a $40,000 settlement on behalf of their brother. She also said that she hadn't seen Mosby since he left their home the morning of the kidnapping, and it was unusual for her to be unable to reach him.
She "expressed fear to return home after her interview with the police because she was afraid that Mosby was involved in Michelle's kidnapping," the documents said.
Mosby, who pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday, told police during an interview that he had plotted with co-conspirators to kidnap Hampton, force her to withdraw money from her accounts and then let her go.
Mosby admitted he left his phone at his brother's home to hide his location data and was part of the group that kidnapped Hampton from her home. He said he sat in the passenger seat of the yellow Dodge Ram.
He also admitted to firing a gunshot at a car driven by Michelle's sister, who had arrived as the group was driving off with Michelle and followed after her sister's kidnappers. Samantha, who had her children in the car, said she stopped following the group after she was shot at.
Samantha said dispatchers didn't take her pleas for help seriously.
St. Louis Police Public Information Officer Mitch McCoy said the department will review that 911 call.
"If we find that there was any room for training, we'll do retraining. If there's cause to fire someone, we'll fire them. I think that we have to make sure that we investigate it thoroughly if there was wrongdoing and make sure that we hold individuals accountable," McCoy said.
Court documents said Samantha used the Life360 location-sharing app with Hampton, and told police her cell phone location was stationary in the area of North Euclid Avenue. Officers went there and found Hampton's phone on the ground.
Hampton was held at gunpoint and forced to drive to several ATMs between Clayton and St. Louis, where they tried to get her to withdraw money.
Surveillance footage from PNC Bank on Page Boulevard showed Hampton in the Ram truck attempting to withdraw $10,000. The staff rejected the requested amount and gave her $2,000.
A short time later, the suspects had Hampton try to withdraw cash from another PNC Bank on Chippewa Street. The truck sped off when a bank employee asked Hampton to come inside to complete the transaction.
They then drove to an alley near the 4700 block of Greer shortly before 11 a.m. Mosby said he let Hampton out of the vehicle, gave her a chance to run away, and then shot her. Surveillance from the scene of the shooting showed Hampton arguing with a person outside of the truck before she was shot.
Surveillance video showed the shooter get into the passenger seat of the Ram truck, which drove away.
Police responded to the shooting call, where they found Hampton dead with several gunshot wounds. A receipt for a bank withdrawal and a .40 caliber cartridge casing were also found at the scene.
Police learned the Ram truck had been stolen from Bridgeton in October. Using AT&T location data, they were able to find the truck parked inside an abandoned home on the 4800 block of Margaretta Avenue. Police obtained a search warrant and found the Ram truck in the garage; also inside the home was an empty PNC bank envelope believed to have contained the money Hampton withdrew.
In a dumpster next to the garage, police found a hooded sweatshirt that had been worn by one of the suspects, as well as items that had been seen in the bed of the Ram truck on surveillance video. Testing showed Mosby's DNA was present on the jacket.
Mosby's cell phone data also showed he had left his and his girlfriend's home shortly before 3 a.m. and traveled in the area of the 4800 block of Margaretta Avenue.
Mosby was later tracked down and arrested after a police pursuit. A gun and phone were found in his vehicle.
Mosby told police that a co-conspirator was supposed to burn the truck, the gun used to kill Hampton, and the sweatshirt he was wearing, documents said.
No other charges have been announced in the case. St. Louis police did not confirm if they were searching for another suspect, but they said nobody else was in custody.
The day after her sister's murder, Samantha sat down with 5 On Your Side for an interview. She said at the time she did not know who the suspects were.
When asked if she believed a random person did this, Samantha said, "No, I don't. I don't think it was random."
5 On Your Side reached out to Michelle Hampton's family on Monday. They said they're working on hiring an attorney and have no other comments at this time.
Mosby's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7.