A groundbreaking 2024 investigation by The Marshall Project, St. Louis Public Radio, and APM Reports showed that over 1,000 murders in the last decade in St. Louis remain unsolved. Building on this reporting, Remember Me honors the lives of those who have died, and looks at the impact on the thousands of friends and family members who have had to move on with their lives without a sense of justice and closure.
“This series is not just about remembrance. It is also about what comes next,” said Raghuram Vadarevu, senior editor of storytelling at The Marshall Project. “Through public art and intentional conversations, we’re striving to create space to think big and reimagine public safety, support and justice.”
The project is anchored by a public art installation, opening August 11th, which features six original portraits by local artist Cbabi Bayoc. Bayoc’s vivid illustrations depict each person as their families remember them: full of life and love. Bayoc, a St. Louis-based visual artist, created the portraits to help restore a sense of wholeness to the affected families and larger community. The portraits will be displayed in multiple venues across the St. Louis region; an accompanying QR code will take viewers to a site where they can listen to audio vignettes of a loved one talking about the person who passed away and view online memorials.
St. Louis Public Radio and The Marshall Project have also produced extensive resources for affected families in St. Louis and nationwide. One resource includes tips for dealing with grief, crowdsourced directly from families who have lost loved ones. This tipsheet includes grief support organizations around St. Louis that come highly recommended. Another set of resources highlights the importance of community engagement in homicide investigations and outlines what families need to know when working with police and what police need to know when working with the community. This “explainer” walks readers through the basics of a homicide investigation…