Jury Convicts St. Louis Man In Death Of Ex-Girlfriend, Her Mom And His Boy Baby

CBS St. Louis

May 02, 2021

On Saturday, a jury convicted a St. Louis man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, her mom and his baby boy in 2012. Attorneys for a St. Louis man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, her mom and his baby boy are asking the Missouri Supreme Court to delay his capital murder trial for two weeks after two potential jurors tested positive for COVID-19.

Jury selection began two weeks ago in the trial of Eric Lawson, who is accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old Breiana Ray and 50-year-old Gwendolyn Ray before setting an apartment fire that killed his 10-month-old son, Aiden. Lawson, 32, has been in pretrial detention since his arrest nearly nine years ago. The case is being prosecuted by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
Jurors made the guilty verdict Saturday and will be back in court on Monday for the penalty phase of the trial.

Elyse Max, executive director of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said that moving ahead with the trial is “blood-thirsty” and creates the risk of a “superspreader” event.
“They’re putting everyone at risk in order to move forward,” Max said. “It’s just concerning.”
Investigators say that after shooting the two women in Breiana Ray's apartment in May 2012, Lawson set two fires and locked the door as he exited, trapping his son and Breiana Ray’s 3-year-old daughter, who was critically injured.
This is the second time Lawson’s case has come to trial. In 2019, prosecutors and defense lawyers were unable to find enough jurors from a pool of hundreds. Some potential jurors cited scheduling conflicts, but others cited opposition to the death penalty.