Damonnie Hicks

Domonique Hicks, 29, and her 2-year-old daughter, Damonnie Hicks, were killed when the driver of the car they were in ran a stop sign and collided with two trees. The driver, Carlas Closson Jr., 30, of St. Louis County, now faces two charges of first-degree murder in the 2021 crash, after previously being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Authorities said Closson was driving over 60 mph just after midnight on March 6, 2021, when he blew a stop sign at Riverview Boulevard and Halls Ferry Circle and struck a curb. The car went airborne and slammed into two trees at the center of the traffic circle. But new charges filed Friday add more context to the weeks leading up to the crash. They say Hicks and Closson had been dating for several months and had broken up in the weeks before the incident. Closson had gotten violent. He later sent a text that said, “WHEN I LEFT THIS MORNING I WAS DONE WITH YOU BUT NEVER MY CHILD.” Hicks and Closson kept in touch about co-parenting their child, but their relationship remained fraught, court documents say. A witness told police that he had been in a vehicle with Closson and Hicks in the weeks before the crash and Closson threatened to crash that vehicle into a wall. The witness also said he saw Closson and Hicks get into a fight the night of Hicks’ death. Closson is being held in the St. Louis jail without bond.