Florissant, Missouri | September 16, 2009
It was just after 5:30 on a quiet September morning when Orlando Smith’s mother prepared to leave for work.
Instead, she walked straight into a nightmare.
As she opened the garage door of their home in the Seven Hills neighborhood of Florissant, three armed men wearing masks ambushed her.
They forced her back inside at gunpoint.
But they weren’t searching the house.
They weren’t demanding money.
According to investigators, they had one objective.
They demanded that she take them directly to her son’s bedroom.
A Targeted Attack
As the group moved through the home, 24-year-old Orlando Smith stepped into the hallway.
Before he had a chance to react, the intruders opened fire.
Orlando was shot and killed inside the home.
The three gunmen fled on foot, running toward nearby Pohlman Road before disappearing.
From the very beginning, investigators believed the attack was targeted.
The suspects bypassed other areas of the residence and focused solely on finding Orlando, leading detectives to conclude this was never a random burglary or home invasion.
Sixteen Years Without Answers
Despite extensive investigative efforts, neighborhood canvasses, and repeated public appeals over the past 16 years, no suspects have been identified.
No arrests have been made.
The case has been featured by local media and St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers in hopes that someone will finally come forward with the information needed to solve Orlando’s murder.
Someone knows why three armed men entered that home.
Someone knows who planned the attack.
And someone knows who pulled the trigger.
If you have any information regarding the murder of Orlando Smith, please contact St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers anonymously at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477) or the Florissant Police Department at 314-831-7000.
Even after all these years, one tip could finally bring answers to Orlando’s family.
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished
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