ST. LOUIS — Don Yorker tried to do for his killer what he did for many: help him.
Yorker, 53, had just gone to his mailbox outside his Lindenwood Park home at about 6 p.m. Feb. 5 when a car pulled up and someone inside asked him for directions to downtown St. Louis, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
He was shot as he was giving his killer directions in the 3300 block of Leola Avenue, according to the source.
Yorker's employers boosted the CrimeStoppers reward for information leading to an arrest to $15,000.
Yorker's wife, Theresa, told 5 On Your Side's Alex Fees her husband would have helped anybody.
Holding up a portrait of the two of them, Theresa Yorker said, “He is such a wonderful man and I’m just heartbroken that we went from happily ever after to nothing in the time it took for a gunshot.”
“I don't understand, you know, why somebody would do that,” said Theresa. “The only thing they took was his life.”
Theresa Yorker said she's trying to make it through with a big hole left in her life.
“I went out there right away, but it was too late,” she said. “You know, everybody went out there, the neighbor a couple doors down was a nurse, and she went out there and tried to give CPR.”
Don’s long-time employers, Jim and Carolyn Eiseman, the owners of U.S. Tape and Label in Maryland Heights, donated $10,000 to the Crimestoppers fund for information that helps solve this murder.
“People care, and they want to do something," Carolyn said. "So, we thought this is something we could do in the community and help bring people in the community out to maybe provide something. Maybe they saw something they didn’t realize mattered, at the moment.”
"We decided to ante-up to get whoever killed Don, to get them off the streets,” Jim Eiseman added.
“The police have been canvassing the community looking for support and if people have their ring videos, or whatever, that could help them. I'm leaving the investigating up to police,” Theresa said.
The Crimestoppers reward now stands at $15,000. Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers toll-free, anonymous tip line at 1-866-371-8477.
