A Missouri man who regularly helped strangers get where they needed to go was shot and killed after picking up a woman seeking a ride to a warming shelter, police and family said.
Police discovered William Palmer shot at a downtown St. Louis intersection shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday and declared him deceased on-scene, First Alert 4 reported, citing police. Palmer had been collecting scrap metal Saturday night when he encountered 36-year-old Brittany Rivoire at a gas station, his fiancé Riyen Jones said. Rivoire allegedly asked him for a ride to a warming shelter because she was cold. (RELATED: Repeat Criminal Allegedly Recorded Himself Stabbing Sleeping Victim On Chicago Train)
“I used to tell him all the time not to pick up people off the side of the road anymore. He did it a lot. If he saw someone walking, he was picking them up and taking them as far as he could,” Jones said.
A friend traveling with Palmer grew worried regarding Rivoire’s behavior and left the vehicle before the shooting occurred, investigators said. Security video showed Rivoire firing a fatal shot to Palmer’s head, police alleged. She then allegedly took his vehicle several blocks away before leaving it.
Rivoire reportedly caught a ride from a second motorist before police apprehended, Fox2 Now reported. The alleged shooter was convicted in 2024 for tampering with a motor vehicle.
St. Louis City Police say William Palmer was shot and killed early Sunday morning. His family says he offered a ride to a woman who asked for help getting to a warming shelter. https://t.co/ke1W5AK0P2
— KMOV (@KMOV) February 4, 2026
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Rivoire with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. Authorities are holding her without bond.
“For somebody to take him for granted when all he was doing was helping her and then to do it to basically take his truck is… I can’t wrap my head around it,” Jones said, according to First Alert 4. Jones described Palmer as “the glue to our family” and “just a giver.”
The family said they still wonder over the circumstances before Palmer was allegedly murdered despite the charges.