ST. LOUIS — New information is shedding light on what may have led up to the deadly shooting of 15-year-old Sentonio Cox early Sunday morning.
"His head was laying down like this and when they brought his body over here, this is how he was laying down, like this," said Sentonio's mother, Roxzyanna Edwards. "I looked at him myself."
For Edwards, the image of her son's corpse is the last picture she'll ever have of him. And his gruesome murder is now being shoved into the spotlight.
"It's just blowing the people up on the fact that it was fast and he was white, that's the difference in this," said Edwards.
Four days after Sentonio was found dead, police arrested and charged 54-year-old Joseph Renick with his murder.
Police records show Renick lived on Schiller Place in Bevo Mill.
But neighbors say he lived right across the street from where Cox's body was found on Vermont Avenue.
"He just worked and went home, so to me I thought, oh, he was a good guy in the neighborhood," said neighbor Sarah Deal.
New details reveal Cox was backing away from Renick with his hands raised when he was shot.
His mother believes he was cutting through Renick's yard. A witness directed 5 On Your Side to an isolated 'do not enter' sign placed near Renick's property.
"I think he had a problem with that, cause I made a mention of it to my girlfriend, cause I said, 'look at the sign. What's that gonna do? they just walk through there anyway,'" said Deal. "I would hate to think that that kid was just cutting through when he shot him."
Cox's murder makes him the 13th child to be killed by gunfire in St. Louis in 2019. And so far, his case is the only one where charges were brought against a suspect.
"I want him to be the same way as my son," Edwards said of Renick. "I want the same penalty."
A fundraiser has been started to help raise money for Cox's funeral expenses.
Renick was charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon. He is being held on $500,000 cash bail.