A Good Samaritan father-of-three was shot and killed after reportedly offering a woman a ride to a warming shelter in Missouri, police have said.
William Palmer was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the early hours of Sunday, according to the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
His fianceé, Riyen Jones, said that Palmer had enjoyed collecting scrap metal and had been doing so with a friend when they had encountered 36-year-old Brittany Rivoire.
“If there was a dumpster in sight, he was looking in it,” Jones told First Alert 4. “As far as we know, she asked him at a gas station to take her to a warming shelter because she was cold.”
According to investigators, Rivoire got into Palmer’s truck and drove around with the two men. At one point, the friend left the vehicle because he was concerned about her behavior.
Surveillance cameras later captured Rivoire shooting Palmer in the head before driving his truck a few blocks before abandoning it.
“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.
Rivoire has been hit with multiple charges, including first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, armed criminal action and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.
She remains in jail without bond.
The Independent has contacted St Louis Police Department for more information.
“I used to tell him all the time not to pick up people off the side of the road anymore,” she said. “He did it a lot. If he saw someone walking, he was picking them up and taking them as far as he could.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Palmer by Jones, who described her fiancé as “the glue to our family” and “a giver.” So far, the page has raised over $2,000 for household support and funeral costs.
Palmer and Jones share a six-year-old daughter, an 18-year-old daughter, and a 21-year-old son.
“William Palmer was the nicest, big-hearted, helpful, and all-around great person, loving father, great friend, just a wonderful person,” the fundraiser description reads.
