20-Year-Old Woman Murdered In Pine Lawn Home Invasion

ST. LOUIS, MO — St. Louis' Major Case Squad has been called in after police say a woman was shot in her home in north St. Louis County early Tuesday morning. The apparent home invasion happened shortly before 1:30 a.m. at an apartment in the 4300 block of Peyton Lane in Pine Lawn.

The woman killed was 20 years old, the Post-Dispatch reports. Her name has not been released.

The victim's mother was also in the apartment at the time of the shooting, but was not hurt. She told KSDK that she heard gunshots and came downstairs to find the apartment door open and her daughter bleeding on a grassy area beside the corner apartment.

"It was like a trail. Like someone just walked in and shot her..." she told the television station. "And I couldn't go in the kitchen. ...I didn't know if someone was still in my house. It was too much glass. And I ran back upstairs and I just grabbed my phone to call 911. I just called rescue. I just wanted somebody to get here to save my daughter."

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The incident is the second deadly home invasion in as many months. In September, according to the Post-Dispatch, 69-year-old Issac Patterson was murdered when a masked man kicked in his door in the 4300 block of Edgewood Boulevard — that's only about half a mile away from Tuesday's murder scene.

That murder remains unsolved, but police said killings likely aren't related.

Anyone with information should contact St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers toll free at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477). All callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward. Tips can also be submitted through the CrimeStoppers website or free app.

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