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Situation
On March 24, 2021, police in Jennings, Missouri, arrested 20-year-old Dairius Kinnie after a high-speed chase followed by a brief shootout. Kinnie was arrested on suspicion of having shot and killed his former girlfriend, Tianna Baker, as well as her mother in their home in the northern suburb of St. Louis. Kinnie was charged with Baker’s murder, as well as several other crimes. Prosecutors alleged that he went to the house and shot Baker several times, intending to kill her, and then shot her mother.
Results
To help prove that Kinnie acted with cool deliberation, St. Louis County prosecutors submitted a ShotSpotter audio recording as evidence to the jury. The recording revealed that Kinnie fired his gun in three volleys, with pauses in between, before starting to shoot again. The pauses were enough to demonstrate the deliberation element required by Missouri’s definition of first-degree murder.
The state built its case on the testimony of Baker’s mother, who had survived the shooting, and of Baker’s sister, who was there at the time. They also called upon several police officers and detectives as witnesses. On December 20, 2023, a St. Louis County jury returned a verdict of first-degree murder and four other felonies in connection to the fatal shooting.
ShotSpotter evidence can tell you if there was a gap in the shots, which could indicate something like deliberation, supporting an argument that the second round of shots was to ensure the victim died. In addition, the technology can lead to a faster police response, making it easier to ensure the integrity of the scene, locate witnesses, and preserve and gather evidence.
