Nearly five decades after a young gas station attendant was killed during a late‑night robbery in Wentzville, police are taking another hard look at the case and asking anyone who remembers that night to finally speak up.
Detectives have reopened the 1977 homicide of 19‑year‑old Kenny Turner, who was working at a gas station on the 700 block of Pearce Boulevard when he was killed during a robbery on Sept. 10, 1977. About $200 was taken from the register. Investigators say Turner suffered blunt‑force injuries and stab wounds, and they have been reexamining the old case file and physical evidence in hopes that new leads will surface.
The Wentzville Police Department says advances in DNA testing and other forensic methods have given them enough fresh tools to revisit the evidence and run new analyses. Investigators, who have kept the case active for nearly 50 years, are now urging anyone with information to come forward, arguing that even a detail that once seemed minor could finally make a difference. As reported by First Alert 4, the department is asking people to call 636‑639‑2123 or leave an anonymous tip online if they know anything.
Why DNA Is Giving Cold Cases New Life
In recent years, investigative genetic genealogy and improved DNA profiling have helped law enforcement crack cases that once looked permanently stuck on the shelf. Across the country, agencies have been using DNA and family‑tree research to narrow down potential suspects and track down relatives of unknown offenders, a method that has proved decisive in several high‑profile cold‑case breakthroughs.
For more background on how those tools have reshaped long‑running investigations and turned long‑cold files into active hunts again, see reporting from ABC News.
How To Reach Investigators
Wentzville police say that details from the night of Sept. 10, 1977, that might have seemed forgettable at the time — a license plate, a description, even just a name overheard — could now be critical.
"If someone knows what happened on Sept. 10, 1977, we encourage them to come forward today," the department said, again steering anyone with information to call 636‑639‑2123 or submit an anonymous tip through its online form. The department's request and the full case summary are laid out in a public post, per First Alert 4.
The renewed push in Wentzville tracks with efforts in other departments to revisit old files using modern forensics. Recent investigations using similar DNA methods have led to identifications in cases that were dormant for decades. Authorities caution that the approach is not a guaranteed solution and has raised privacy concerns, but it has repeatedly opened new investigative paths for detectives who were once out of options. For reporting on comparable breakthroughs and the limits of the technique, see coverage from The Associated Press.
