Levi Henning

A man whose murder charges were dropped earlier this year following numerous failures in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office was shot and killed Thursday morning outside his home in the city’s West End neighborhood. Levi Henning, 21, was on his way to court around 8:20 a.m. for a hearing in a separate robbery case when police received a call for shots fired in the 5600 block of Bartmer Avenue. Officers said they found Henning dead with multiple wounds to his head and upper torso. Henning’s attorney, David Mueller, said he went to the hearing in Henning’s case and was surprised when his client didn’t show. Mueller tried to call Henning afterward, excited to tell him that his case had been dropped after months of delays and legal wrangling, but he learned the 21-year-old was dead instead. “He was murdered two hours from freedom,” Mueller said. Henning had previously been charged with murder in the death of 18-year-old Carieal Doss, who was found shot in the head in the city’s Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood on April 14, 2020. Mueller said the case was mishandled from the start: A search warrant contained false statements and prosecutors took months to turn over key evidence. Evidence pointed to another perpetrator. Meanwhile, Doss’ family searched for justice. They received few updates from prosecutors, so Doss’ mother, Johnetta Doss, intently watched the state’s online court records and attended every hearing. Then, earlier this year, prosecutors dismissed Henning’s murder case altogether, making it one of the thousands that were dropped during St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner’s tenure. Gardner resigned in May amid mounting efforts seeking her removal. Following her resignation, Doss told the Post-Dispatch she hoped prosecutors would re-open the case. She also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Henning in late May. Now, Mueller said, he is left thinking about his client, who was “charming” and “thoughtful” even as he sat in jail. Henning had plans to work for his father. He was ready to move on. “He was on the verge before the continued gun violence in our city claimed another young life,” Mueller said. Police said they have not identified any suspects in Henning’s death.