Taniesha M. Givens

Maryland Heights police were called about 10:30 a.m. Thursday when housekeepers discovered Taniesha M. Givens' body in a room in a Maryland Heights Motel 6 at 12330 Dorsett Road, according to police and court documents. The body appeared to have 44 stab wounds, a probable cause statement says. Keno King, of Berkeley, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Givens, 44, also of Berkeley. Police saw on surveillance video that Givens' boyfriend, King, was filmed entering the room on Tuesday with Givens before exiting on Wednesday alone, court documents say. The video showed no one else entering the room during that time, according to the documents. Givens' vehicle was missing from the motel by the time her body was found Thursday. Maryland Heights police tracked down her car less than five hours later to the 6900 block of North Hanley Road in Hazelwood and found King inside, according to a statement from the department. Investigators found bloody clothes inside the car and signs that King had a hand injury, charging documents say.