Lowenski Ames

A St. Ann woman shot a man execution-style in her home this week and tossed the murder weapon along a road, authorities said. Rebecca Ann McCullough, 61, is accused of killing a 22-year-old man, Lowenski Ames, early Wednesday in the 10600 block of St. Veronica Court. St. Ann police Detective Capt. Blake Carrigan said McCullough had worked as a home health care aide for a relative of the victim. Carrigan said the killing was the result of “a drug- and alcohol-fueled argument.” McCullough called 911 about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to say she had come home to find the bloody scene. “I just arrived home and found my son dead,” McCullough told the police dispatcher. McCullough often referred to Ames as her son, even though he wasn’t, police said. McCullough and Ames had lived together at the home on St. Veronica on and off for six months to a year, but Ames moved back in the day before his death, Carrigan said. Police believe Ames had been shot dead an hour earlier, and that McCullough drove around and tossed the gun onto the shoulder of Link Road before returning home and calling authorities, Carrigan said. McCullough later wrote a confession, saying the victim was shot while they were fighting over a .38-caliber revolver. St. Ann police Chief Aaron Jimenez said McCullough tried to make it sound like self-defense but that authorities didn’t buy that. The victim was shot in the back of the head. “You cannot be fighting over a gun and get shot in the back of the head,” Jimenez said. “It was execution-style.” There were no signs of a struggle inside the home, police said. The gun was found about 1.3 miles from the home. Jimenez said five detectives, two supervisors and a patrolman teamed up to solve the case in less than two days. St. Louis County prosecutors charged McCullough on Thursday with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence. She was convicted in 1987 of second-degree assault in St. Louis County.