ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A St. Louis County jury convicted a man of first-degree murder and multiple other crimes for a shooting that killed a woman and injured her mother.
Dairius Kinnie, 23, was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder and four other felonies for the deadly shooting of Tianna Baker on March 24, 2021. Baker's mother was also seriously injured in the shooting.
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The incidents began when Kinnie went to a home on Akins Drive at around 5:20 p.m. Charging documents said he went into the home and shot Tiana Baker several times. He also shot Baker's mother multiple times.
Witnesses reported seeing the suspect get away from the scene in a black Dodge Ram pickup truck and provided police with a partial license plate number. When an officer with the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department spotted the truck hours later, he attempted to pull the driver over. Kinnie fled from the officer but eventually crashed into a tree near Chambers Road and Grosvenor Drive.
Police said Kinnie got out of the truck, pulled out a gun and pointed it at the officer. The officer fired shots at Kinnie, but neither the officer nor Kinnie were injured in the incident.
Prosecutors called multiple witnesses, including the surviving victim and her daughter, who witnessed the shooting but was not injured.
“The courage and composure this mother and her daughter — who saw their loved one brutally murdered — showed on the witness stand left our trial team in awe of their strength and resilience.
First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without eligibility for parole.
