A 15-year-old teenager was charged with first-degree murder for the death of John Wesley Allen Sr., a 78-year-old man who, according to the Illinois State Police, was randomly attacked while waiting at a bus stop in East St. Louis.
Surveillance videos released after the crime showed the suspect in the clown costume in the neighborhood before the attack. In the recordings, he is seen approaching homes in the area, looking into doors and windows, and moving around with a large knife.
How the attack happened and what charges the teenager is facing
According to the Illinois State Police, the attack occurred on August 3 shortly after 10 p.m., in the area of 76th Street and State Street. East St. Louis officers responded to the scene following a report of a body in the street and determined that Allen was waiting at a bus stop when he was attacked, CNN specified.
The authorities indicated that the suspect was quickly identified and later arrested at a residence. On August 6, he was formally charged with first-degree murder.
The young man appeared before a juvenile court and will remain in detention at least until the next hearing. His identity was not released because he is a minor, reported Associated Press.
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The St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to move the case out of juvenile court to advance the prosecution of the defendant as an adult. The teenager’s defense has been assigned to the county public defender’s office.
The attack occurred shortly after 10 p.m. in the area of 76th Street and State Street, where officers found the body of John Wesley Allen Sr. in the street (Video capture: KSDK).
The videos and the route prior to the crime
Before the homicide, security cameras recorded images of the suspect in the clown costume in the neighborhood.
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A Ring camera captured him less than an hour before the body was found, about three blocks from the scene of the attack. In that recording, he is heard saying “I’m looking for you”.
Another recording showed the teenager as he walked through the area with a large knife and approached homes. In it, he can be heard saying “I have a gift for you”.
Lee Palmer, the son of an elderly woman who lives alone, told NBC affiliate KSDK: “I think he’s going to kill everyone in the house because of how he got in,” referring to the minor captured on his mother’s Ring camera. Palmer added that he is glad he did not open the door.
The teenager accused of murder for stabbing a man in East St. Louis, Illinois, appears in a clown costume in security footage (Video capture: Lora Palmer).
The family’s memory of John Wesley Allen Sr.
The victim was a United States Navy veteran, a retired bus driver, an active member of his church, and the youngest of six siblings. In the family, they called him “Baby Boy” and described him as a constant presence for his loved ones.
According to those close to KSDK, Allen lived in a senior living complex in St. Louis and frequently visited his sisters across the river. On the day of the attack, he had gone to the veterans’ hospital for tests before stopping by the house of one of them, located just a few minutes from the bus stop. He was identified by the hospital bracelet he was still wearing on his wrist.
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His sister Marie Stanford told the media that they maintained a daily bond: “We were always looking out for each other.” Through tears, she remembered Allen and lamented: “He is the best brother who was taken from us.”
Then he recounted that, a few days before the crime, he shared a religious convention with him along with other relatives: “He said it had been one of the best moments he had had in a long time,” he recounted.
According to the family, faith held a central place in Allen’s life, and he used to say goodbye to his loved ones with the same phrase: “We do it for love”.
John Wesley Allen Sr. was a United States Navy veteran, a retired bus driver, and an active member of his church (Video capture: KSDK).
For her part, his niece Tenia Stanford stated that Allen worked for more than 35 years as a bus driver for Bi-State, Vandalia, and Greyhound. “He was an uncle you could talk to, whom you could call. He was an extraordinary man,” she expressed.
The relatives maintained that they did not know the accused teenager and that they cannot find an explanation for the attack. They even stated that, in his entire history, it was the first time something like this had happened to him when getting off a bus.
“I wonder why this person did this. He didn’t know my brother. He just walked up and stabbed him for no reason. It makes no sense,” stated Marie.
While Tania questioned: “And now we have to sit here and endure this pain and suffering because of a random act?”.
