Key facts
- A 15-year-old boy is in custody and faces a delinquency petition for first-degree murder.
- The victim, 78-year-old John Wesley Allen Sr., was stabbed multiple times while waiting at a bus stop.
- Video footage shows a suspect in a clown costume near the scene.
- The St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office is seeking to prosecute the teen as an adult.
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 78-year-old man in East St. Louis, Illinois. Authorities identified the victim as John Wesley Allen Sr., a Navy veteran and retired bus driver who was found stabbed multiple times in the roadway on Monday night. Police responded to the scene after receiving a report of a body. Surveillance footage from a Ring camera three blocks away captured a figure in a clown costume, described as wearing a black and red outfit, approaching the camera and whispering a warning. Neighbors reported seeing someone peering through windows and carrying a large knife that night. The suspect was identified and taken into custody later that night. The St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office has filed a delinquency petition alleging first-degree murder and is seeking to have the teen prosecuted as an adult, though his case currently remains under the Illinois Juvenile Court Act. The teen is being represented by the St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office.