A second St. Louis man has been sentenced in connection with the shooting death of 31-year-old Marilyn Emilien, closing out a case that began with a heated argument outside a Dutchtown home and ended with gunfire into a fleeing car. Hashiem Thomas, 26, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and other felonies, while his brother Aakiem Thomas, 23, already received a combined 15 years after pleading guilty in June to voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.
According to First Alert 4, Aakiem Thomas was sentenced to 12 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter plus a consecutive three-year sentence for armed criminal action, for a total of 15 years behind bars. The outlet reports that both brothers were charged in the Aug. 9, 2025, shooting death of Emilien, who was 31 at the time. Prosecutors told the station that the brothers came outside their home on Gasconade Avenue after their mother argued with a man, then fired shots as that man and Emilien drove away.
Emilien died in the shooting, and the man accompanying her was grazed in the head, the station's report notes. The shooting unfolded on a Saturday afternoon in a residential stretch of the Dutchtown neighborhood, the kind of quiet block where a dispute between neighbors turned deadly in a matter of moments once the brothers stepped outside.
What Police Said Happened Near Dewey and Gasconade
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said officers responded around 2:41 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2025, to a call for a shooting near the intersection of Dewey and Gasconade. Police identified the woman killed as 31-year-old Marilyn Emilien and said a man in his 30s had been grazed in the head and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Fox 2 pinpointed the shooting to the 3600 block of Gasconade Street, reporting it happened around 2:40 p.m. that day in the city's Dutchtown neighborhood. Per FOX 2, police said Aakiem fired two shots into the man's car and that Hashiem also began shooting as the victims drove away.
Conflicting Details on Ages and Charges
Records on the case do not fully line up. The police department's initial release described the suspects as a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old man, while later sentencing coverage from First Alert 4 identified them as Aakiem Thomas, 23, and Hashiem Thomas, 26. The evidence reviewed does not explain the discrepancy.
The charges as described also differ depending on the source. St. Louis police said the second suspect, arrested Sept. 2, 2025, on at-large warrants, faced first-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm. Fox 2, however, reported that the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office charged Hashiem Thomas with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, and three counts of armed criminal action. Both brothers ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges than those initially filed — Aakiem to voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, and Hashiem to second-degree murder and other felonies.
