The underlying incident occurred in late December 2025 at a house on Floy Avenue in northwestern St. Louis where 45-year-old LaTasha Brown and her daughter, 9-year-old Paige Buckner, both died. On Dec. 21, 2025, the victims were found in their still-burning home by firefighters and rushed to a nearby hospital. The day after that, the mother died, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The slain woman's SUV would eventually turn up in the small city of Poplar Bluff, which is located roughly 150 miles due south of St. Louis. "This was a heartbreaking case," St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy told Spectrum News.