Clayton woman killed after kidnapping; vehicle of interest recovered:

ST. LOUIS – A murder victim’s car recovered, as was a vehicle of interest, possibly used in the abduction of a Clayton woman who was found shot to death in St. Louis City.

According to a spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the Kingsway East neighborhood just after 11 a.m. A woman was found shot to death in an alley on the 4700 block of Greer Avenue near Marcus.

That woman was later identified as Michelle Hampton. She was 37.

Investigators in St. Louis and Clayton determined Hampton was kidnapped early Wednesday morning in front of her home on Whitburn Drive by an armed suspect.

“It put me in shock, and I think I’ve been in shock sense,” Heather Watson, Michelle’s sister-in-law, said.

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Relatives witnessed the incident and said Hampton was in the driver’s seat of her car with a person in the passenger seat. They followed the vehicle into St. Louis City but stopped after someone fired shots at their car.

“My almost-16-year-old nephew was shot; the window was broken. [The shots] came inches from him and his mother’s face, and that’s when they stop chasing the car,” Watson said.

Hampton was forced to drive from Clayton to St. Louis, where she was killed and her body abandoned on Greer. Hampton’s loved ones hoped she’d be found alive.

“When I heard the body was found, I knew it was her,” Watson said.

Michelle’s family said she was a loving mother, liked by all, and will be missed.

“She doesn’t deserve it, she ain’t done nothing to nobody,” Collen Hayden said. “Everything she has, she worked really hard for; like she don’t do nothing to nobody.”

“She was a giver. She always did for others the best that she could with what little she had,” Jacey Hampton, Michelle’s niece, said. “She was always there for everybody.”

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The SLMPD Homicide Division is handling the ongoing investigation, with Clayton Police assisting. Police believe Hampton was specifically targeted.

Hampton’s family pleaded for the person responsible to turn themselves in to police.

“If you see anything, call police; report the tips. Anything will help. We want to catch them and put her to rest,” Watson said.

Anyone with information on the case who wants to remain anonymous or is interested in a cash reward can contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.

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