ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – A murder charge was filed Thursday against a Godfrey, Illinois, man who is believed to have killed his girlfriend earlier that morning and then died following a standoff at a West Alton gas station.

According to the St. Charles County Police Department, police received a service call around 3:15 a.m. Thursday about a shooting in the 1000 block of North Service Road. Just before 4:40 a.m., police claim Clyde E. Young, 28, called dispatchers to report a woman was dead at that location.

Officers found a woman shot to death inside a 2023 Freightliner semi-truck. The vehicle had been leased to Young and he was the registered operator as of Thursday.

Late Thursday afternoon, the victim was identified as Amy Lynn Delacruz of Cadet, Missouri. Delacruz was 47.

The probable cause statement says Young told police that he and Delacruz were in a romantic relationship. He said the two got into an argument the night prior and that he got his shotgun and shot Delacruz in the head.

Cpl. Barry Bayles, a spokesman for the St. Charles County Police Department, said Young again contacted them from a gas station in West Alton and stated he would turn himself in to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, but then changed his mind and said he would surrender to St. Charles authorities.

“This individual was a person of interest in an investigation in Foristell from early this morning,” Bayles said. “When the officers were attempting to discuss with him or get him to talk to us, he made a decision that he did not want to speak to our investigators anymore.”

Police applied for arrest warrants and the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Young with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

St. Charles County police met Young at the Phillips 66 gas station along Highway 67. Dispatchers said Young told them he had a weapon in his vehicle. When law enforcement arrived, they set up a perimeter around the gas station and began talking with Young to get him to surrender.

After approximately three hours of negotiations, Cpl. Bayles said Young went back to his truck and began to retrieve a firearm.

Bayles said Young fired shots and an officer fired one round in exchange. Young was pronounced dead in the parking lot. Police claim Young died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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During the standoff in West Alton, authorities blocked traffic to both the Lewis and Clark bridges on Highway 67 as a precaution for drivers.

Residents remain in shock.

“Here in St. Charles County, when we have stories like that happen, it’s very scary. We are a tight knit community,” Jennifer Tuck said. “Everybody knows everybody. We stick together and that news is very scary.”

“It’s alarming and it’s getting worse every day. Just murders, murders, murders. They need to do something, bad,“ Alex Ladd said.

St. Charles County police are encouraging anyone with information on the investigation to contact authorities.

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