More than two years after being shot to death on Christmas Eve, family of murdered South City man left without answers
By Caroline Hecker
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — The family of a South City man shot and killed while driving down South Broadway on Christmas Eve 2020 is fighting to keep his name and legacy top of mind.
St. Louis City Police say Chris Rea, 21, was found dead inside his pick-up truck near the 8100 block of South Broadway and Davis Street before sunrise on Christmas Eve 2020. It is unclear how long he had been in the car, which made its way onto a nearby sidewalk, before police arrived.
“What was going on that night?” said Mackenzie Phillips, who dated Rea for several years and is the mother to two of his children. “When I couldn’t get a hold of him, it was a red flag for me. Because he kept his word. If we were supposed to meet up, or he was going to come by, he did it.”
Rea was shot in the head but no suspects in the case have ever been identified. Family and friends said it’s unclear where Chris was going when he was shot, or where the shooter was standing when Chris allegedly drove by.
“This is Broadway,” said Destiny Barnett, the mother of Rea’s youngest daughter. “All of these houses… especially where it happened, this is not a quiet alley area. There’s constant traffic. For him to be shot and left here for as long as he was, I don’t see how someone couldn’t have seen something.”
Both women said Rea was a loving father who was always present for his kids. Despite suffering relationship struggles with Phillips and Barnett, both said he always made an effort to be involved.
“He was a great dad,” Phillips said. “To not have any idea other than that he was murdered, that’s hard. When they grow up they’re going to want those answers.”
Phillips’ oldest child is five and is beginning to ask where her dad is, she said.
“She tells me everyday she wishes God had a phone so she could talk to her dad,” she said. “I want to be able to tell her with some certainty, when she’s older, what happened to him and we can’t do that. We don’t have justice.”
Barnett’s daughter will be three next year and while still too young to comprehend the loss, she worries about the day she’s forced to have a similar conversation.
“It’s the worst feeling as a mother to know you’re going to be asked questions you don’t have answers for,” she said.
The case remains open with detectives struggling to find any substantial leads. Both women believe multiple people know what happened and are angry and frustrated they haven’t stepped forward.
“It’s sad that people he looked up to, that he considered friends, won’t step up,” Phillips said. “If it was Chris and this happened to one of his friends, he would come forward with what, if anything, he knew.”
Anyone with any information is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers and can remain anonymous.
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