Megan Boken Murder: No Evidence Volleyball Star Knew Killer

Aug. 20, 2012— -- Police in St. Louis said today they are looking at surveillance video for leads into the shooting death of a woman who died hours before she was supposed to play in a volleyball game at her alma mater.

Megan Boken, 23, who was a former volleyball standout at St. Louis University, had been in town to play in a match that pitted alumni against student athletes, kicking off the fall season.

"We don't have a motive but are investigating it from a robbery standpoint," said David Marzullo, director of public information for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Boken, who had graduated with a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from St. Louis University in 2011, was shot to death while sitting in her Volkswagen Saturday afternoon, police said.

She was wounded in the neck and chest and was pronounced dead at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

It was unclear whether the suspect had been in the car with Boken or had opened the door and fired into the car, Marzullo said.

"We have no evidence that she knew [the gunman]," he said.

Witnesses told police the suspect is in his early 20s and is around 5-foot-5 or 5-foot-6 with a thin build.

"This was our central west end. This is a very very unusual event for that area," Marzullo said.

Mayor Francis Slay said Boken's death made him feel "angry and frustrated and determined."

"I am frustrated because American cities, including ours, are awash in guns. Crime has trended down in St. Louis for the past six years in almost every category except gun violence," Slay wrote on his blog.

"I am determined that we will find who did this and bring him to justice. The police have asked for the help of every resident to identify the gunman. Let's help them," he wrote.