Kerry Sisters Murder - Chain of Rocks Bridge - St. Louis, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 45.590 W 090° 10.459
15S E 745527 N 4293917
The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was the scene where, on April 4, 1991, four men sexual assaulted and murdered of two sisters and attempted to murder their cousin.
Waymark Code: WM18ZZ
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 02/28/2007
Views: 429
The Chain of Rocks Bridge had been built in 1929 as a toll bridge across the Mississippi River and became the most famous crossing for Route 66. The bridge was closed in 1967 when the new Chain of Rocks Bridge was built for I-270 just to the north of this bridge. Following its closure the bridge gained a reputation for crime and violence. On the night of April 4, 1991 Julie Kerry age 20, her sister Robin age 19 along with their cousin Thomas Cummins age 19, were on the bridge. While they were on the bridge they met a group of four men, Marlin Gray, Antonio Richardson, Reginald Clemons and Daniel Winfrey, whom they had not known before. The two groups talked and the men showed the girls and their cousin a manhole cover which would allow them to get down to one of the piers on the bridge. The groups then separated. After a while the four men decided they were going to rob the three. The men instructed them to get down on the ground. The two girls were grabbed and raped. The three were also robbed and then told to go down through the manhole cover to the pier. Once there the two girls were pushed off into the river and their cousin jumped off as instructed. The cousin survived 70 foot fall to the river and was able to swim to shore. The body of Julie Kerry was found three weeks later near Caruthersville, Missouri about 150 miles down stream, and the body of Robin Kerry has never been found. When the four men were apprehended they had in their possession some property belonging to the other three.
Marlin Gray, Antonio Richardson, and Reginald Clemons were convicted and sentenced to death. Daniel Winfrey who was 15 at the time of the crime plead guilty to second-degree murder and forcible rape and testified against the other three in their trials, and is serving a 30 year sentence. Gray was executed in 2005, Clemons remains on death row, and Richardson's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by the Supreme Court of Missouri because he was sentenced by a judge and not a jury.
The coordinates listed are the middle of the bridge on the Missouri-Illinois state line. The bridge is now open as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset.
Note: When visiting the bridge I advise parking on the Illinois side of bridge rather than the Missouri side. If parking on Missouri side of bridge remove all valuables from your vehicle. This parking lot has one of highest vehicle break-in rates in the city. Another advantage of parking on the Illinois side is the close proximity to alternate river side viewing lot.
Date of crime: 04/04/1991
Public access allowed: yes
Fee required: no
Web site: [Web Link]
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