Woman used steak knives from shelf to kill stranger at dollar store, Missouri cops say

Before a “random” woman was fatally stabbed while shopping, her suspected killer had been thinking about killing someone, Missouri police said, according to KMOV.

Now, 34-year-old Cameka Cathey, of Memphis, is accused of doing exactly that, FOX13 reported. The fatal stabbing was reported at a Family Dollar at about 11:15 a.m. Tuesday in Breckenridge Hills, about 15 miles northwest of St. Louis.

Cathey had entered the dollar store and grabbed two steak knives from a shelf before going up to 65-year-old Mary Beth Gaeng, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. She then began stabbing the woman in the head, court documents say, according to the newspaper.

Cathey had “chosen by the suspect at random,” a release from police states, according to KMOV, but police said she intentionally chose an older woman.

“They did not know each other,” Police Chief John Griffin said, according to the Post-Dispatch. “There was no conversation, nothing, during that time. She just approached the victim and just started stabbing the victim in the face and the head area.”

Employees started to help Gaeng, the random shopper, after the stabbing, but Cathey then re-approached the woman and stabbed her again, WREG reported. Cathey then “calmly” walked out of the store.

Police were called to the store, and Gaeng was rushed to an emergency room where she died, FOX2 reported.

An officer found Cathey at a gas station close to the Family Dollar, police said, according to the Post-Dispatch.

“We observed the perpetrator exiting the store with some paper towels wiping the blood off her hands,” Griffin said, according to the newspaper, and they found two steak knifes in the dollar store parking lot.

Cathey was then arrested and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, according to FOX2. She was booked into the St. Louis County Jail with no bond.

Police said she faces additional charges from unrelated crimes, KMOV reported, and Cathey was ”not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the stabbing.”

Gaeng was a “beloved friend and caregiver” in the nursery classrooms at The Gathering United Methodist Church in Clayton, Missouri, according to its Facebook post.

“We are devastated by this loss as so many of our children have been blessed by her gentle and affectionate care,” the church posted. “She cherished every moment spent teaching and playing with the kids in the 0-2 room and so many early journeys of faith were started because of her.”