Community Corner

Friend Of Slain Mother Said 'Leave The House' Hours Before North County Triple Homicide

Stephanie St. John said friends of Roseann McCulley called her Rosey and she was a "very sweet girl, very intelligent" person.

(CBS)

March 08, 2021

Stephanie St. John said friends of Roseann McCulley called her Rosey and she was a "very sweet girl, very intelligent" person. According to police, Bobby McCulley III shot and killed his 34-year-old wife Roseann, her 13-year-old son Kayden Johnson and her 6-year-old daughter Kaylee Brooks just before midnight in the 4800 block of Lockwig Trail. Court documents show McCulley had filed for divorce just days before the killings. After the shooting, police say he abducted his one-year-old daughter from the home. According to police, McCulley was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Bobby McCulley, along with her 13-year-old son Kayden Johnson and her 6-year-old daughter Kaylee Brooks late Thursday at a house in the 4800 block of Lockwig Trail Court. Police said Bobby McCulley abducted their 1-year-old daughter from the home but later dropped her off at a relative's house before taking his own life around 9:00 a.m. Friday. St. John said she was increasingly concerned for her friend's safety over the last two weeks. Rosey posted on her Facebook page recently about being beaten so badly recently by her husband that she was hospitalized. In the post she wrote that he "was able to stomp my chest and abdomen, so the bruising and swelling is really bad there." She also wrote that she received morphine through an IV for the pain. A week later Bobby McCulley wrote on his wife's Facebook page, "Everyone enjoyed the show! More to come." This old file photo shows Bobby McCulley III, 35, who was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of kidnapping, seven counts of armed criminal action and one count of burglary. McCulley shot himself after shooting a woman and her two children on March 5 in north St. Louis County. St. Louis County Police Department. St. John said she spoke to Rosey around 6:30 p.m. Thursday but couldn't convince her to take the children and go stay somewhere else. So they made an agreement to check with each other every two hours. "I called her so many times last night and I didn't get a response back," St. John said. She said around 10:30 p.m. she finally got a response to one of her texts but thought the wording that was used was uncharacteristic of Rosey. And when she asked if it was Bobby who'd written the responding text, there was no answer. St. John said it wasn't until the next morning that she learned her friend, Rosey and two of her children, had been killed. For resources on how domestic violence victims can get help in the St. Louis area, click here or here. Those in the Metro East can click here. The YWCA of Greater St. Louis also has classes on how to spot domestic violence, for more on that, click here.

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