ST. LOUIS COUNTY — The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged 75-year-old Richard Laususe with a hit-and-run on Thursday, August 31. Laususe is currently in jail on a cash-only bond of $250,000.
Michael Murray, a 62-year-old homeless individual, was discovered deceased at the accident scene, with injuries consistent with those typically sustained in a car accident.
On August 24, the suspect was driving a 2014 Mercedes-Benz C350 south on Halls Ferry Road, near Sun Valley Drive, when he struck the victim.
A fragment of the defendant’s vehicle was left at the scene, later matched to a Mercedes-Benz C350 registered to Laususe. Surveillance data from a license plate reader database confirmed the defendant’s vehicle approaching the accident site at 8:18 p.m. on August 24.
At 8:22 p.m., a business security camera captured a vehicle resembling the defendant’s, traveling south on Halls Ferry Road, just feet from the accident location.
On August 30, detectives executed a search warrant at the registered owner’s residence. They located the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C350 in the garage, which exhibited front-end damage and what appeared to be human hair on the underside of the vehicle.
During an interview with the police, the suspect admitted to being present at the accident scene, believing the victim was deceased, but he denied any involvement in the accident.
Crimes Against Persons detectives from the St. Louis County Police are overseeing the investigation. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
