St. Louis Police: We’ve caught Megan Boken’s killers
BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com August 23, 2012 12:07PM
Megan Boken, center, was killed Saturday when she was in St. Louis on her way to play in an alumni volleyball game at St. Louis University.
Updated: September 25, 2012 10:46AM
St. Louis Police said they were confident they had captured the killers of former Saint Louis University volleyball player Megan Boken of Wheaton.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department arrested the two suspects for the slaying on Thursday. Both are 18 and from St. Louis.
“We are confident that based on the evidence we have captured the killers of Megan Boken and will bring them to justice,” police said in a statement.
No charges had been filed but police Chief Dan Isom said his department will present the case to prosecutors Friday for possible charges.
St. Louis officials initially said Boken, 23, may have known her killer. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay later issued a public apology. Authorities then said she was the apparent victim of a robbery.
Witnesses and other members of the community helped police identify the suspects, police said.
“Tomorrow morning detectives will be applying for warrants with the Circuit Attorneys office,” the police statement read. “After the issuance of warrants, the suspects will be identified.
Boken was in St. Louis for an alumni volleyball game last Saturday when she was shot in the neck and chest while sitting in her car. Her family mourned her at a funeral service Thursday.
Her father, Paul Boken, called the simultaneous services at St. Michael’s Church in Wheaton and at Saint Louis University “beautiful.”
After learning of the arrests, he said his family was “gratified with the progress in the case and are very thankful for the efforts of the St. Louis Police Department.”
He also thanked the bystanders who came to his daughter’s aid and all those who had supported his family over the last week.
Earlier Thursday, officials announced that a person of interest was in custody. They later announced two men were being questioned.
Boken was chatting on her cellphone on Saturday with her mother when the call abruptly ended. Her body was found at 2:20 p.m. in her Volkswagen. The Wheaton native was a standout volleyball player at St. Francis High School in Wheaton. She graduated in 2011 from St. Louis University.
Contributing: AP
