ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Kristen Whitted was shot and killed in the southbound lanes of I-170 near Olive Boulevard while driving to meet a friend for a walk in Forest Park Monday afternoon.
Her brother, Fred Whitted, pleaded for the community’s help in solving Whitted’s case. During a press conference in Olivette, he asked for anyone with information to come forward.
“This family standing up here is never going to be the same,” said Fred Whitted, during a news conference with the Major Case Squad at the Olivette Police Department.
“She was my protector. She was my best friend. She was a grandmother. She was an aunt, a niece, a partner. She was everything to anybody.”
Kristen leaves behind two children, a 29-year-old son, and a 16-year-old daughter. She also leaves behind a one-year-old grandson.
“These are two people whose souls were intertwined; not connected, they were intertwined,” Fred said. “They share the same birthday. Do you know what that day is going to mean next year? Do you know what you did that day? Do you understand the magnitude of what you did?”
“Her mom is not going to be there to put on her prom dress. She’s not going to be there to see her be walked down the aisle. We will be forever trying to replace and replenish the love that you took away from us.”
Police said Kristen was caught between two speeding cars engaged in a rolling gun battle. Major Case Squad detectives are looking for that elusive bit of evidence to lead them to her killer(s).
“When I was growing up here and there would be random acts of violence, there was a code that was followed,” said Fred Whitted, who works in higher education at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and volunteers as a community activist, mentoring young people at-risk.
“That code was women and children be left alone, innocent lives be left alone…where is the outrage in the community?” he said.
Kristen, was worked in IT at SSM Health, was studying for her master’s degree in computer science. She also studied Arabic, was an avid churchgoer, and a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
“This could have been your mom, your sister, your neighbor, your teacher. You could be sitting here in front of these cameras instead of me. You could be having to plan a funeral in a pandemic. Help us find who did this to my sister because it’s not fair. I was just talking to (her) Saturday for 45 minutes. I thank God I got that 45 minutes with my sister. We were talking about Christmas,” Fred said.
From Nebraska to Virginia, her loved ones are now returning here not just to mourn but also to hopefully renew their faith in their home town.
“I’m never going to get tired of saying Kristen’s name. I’m not going to get tired of talking about my sister,” Fred said.
“By anybody’s standard, we did everything right, my sister did everything right. This act of recklessness, of thoughtlessness, it took away my family. You ripped my family apart.”
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis has pursued 50 leads in their investigation but are without suspects.
Capt. Jon Romas, a Major Case Squad spokesman, said investigators started to receive tips after Fred Whitted spoke Thursday morning.
Do you have more information? Call police at 911. You can also send an anonymous tip and be eligible for a reward by calling CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been established for Whitted’s daughter’s college tuition.
You can listen to Fred Whitted’s comments below in their entirety.
