Man killed ex in her apartment, then wheeled her body past security, lawsuit says

The family of a Missouri woman is suing an apartment complex and its security company after a lawsuit says she was killed and wheeled past a security guard.

The family of 63-year-old Carolyn Jenkins says apartment complex officials should have never allowed her death to happen in the first place because they failed to adequately screen the man accused of killing her.

They are seeking at least $25,000 from each accused party.

In 2001, David Harvey moved into the Metropolitan Village Apartments in St. Louis, where Jenkins also lived starting in 2020, according to a lawsuit obtained by KSDK.

At some point, the two became involved in a romantic relationship, the court document said.

The relationship between the two ended, however, and Jenkins reported that Harvey was harassing her by “illegally entering her apartment, going through her personal items, and accessing her apartment with a key which was obtained from the management of Metropolitan Village Apartments,” the lawsuit said.

Jenkins complained to apartment management and told them about the break-ins and harassment, which should have been caught on security cameras, according to the lawsuit.

“Despite her repeated complaints, which included filing a police report against David Harvey, Carolyn Jenkins needed to change the locks on her apartment,” the lawsuit said.

But Harvey would enter her apartment again, according to the lawsuit. On Aug. 11, 2022, with the help of a worker at the apartment complex, Harvey entered Jenkins’ apartment and killed her, the lawsuit said.

“She had gone down to get her mail and the murderer followed her back up to her apartment and killed her there. Our private autopsy revealed that she was stabbed seven times,” Jenkins’ daughter, Carla Smith, told KSDK.

McClatchy News reached out to the Metropolitan Village Apartments, Sansone Group, LLC, and Anthony’s Empire Security, LLC, which are the parties listed in the lawsuit on Jan. 4 but did not immediately hear back.

‘Security just sat there’

When Harvey followed Jenkins to her apartment, he rushed before she could close the door, the lawsuit said.

Several minutes later, he is seen on video surveillance footage leaving the apartment and locking the door, detectives told the news outlet. Then, two men are accused of going into the apartment around 2 a.m., loading her body onto a dolly and wheeling it outside, KSDK reported.

Police said the other man with Harvey was John Day, who worked at the apartment complex, KSDK reported.

The lawsuit said Harvey took Jenkins’ body out of the building on a cart, past a security guard and dumped her body in an alley.

“The security just sat there, monitor above her head, she never moved she just sat there,” Smith told KTVZ. “It was 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, she never asked, ‘what are you doing? What is that?’ Nothing, my mother’s foot was dragging.”

Jenkins’ family called police the day she was killed when they didn’t hear from her, the news outlet reported. Police said they found her apartment in “disarray with a small pool of blood inside but did not find her,” KTVZ reported.

After a week of still no word, the family called the police a second time. After that call, police found Jenkins’ body in a wooded area behind the apartment complex, KTVZ reported.

Who is responsible?

The lawsuit says Harvey’s criminal record should have barred him from living in the apartment complex, which makes the complex liable for Jenkins’ death.

Because the apartment complex was under agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, tenants were supposed to be screened and meet certain requirements.

In 2015, Harvey was charged with first-degree murder of a pregnant woman. Prior to this, he had several other charges including first-degree assault and possession of cocaine, the lawsuit said.

“During the term of a lease at Metropolitan Village Apartments, any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants, or any drug-related criminal activity on the premises engaged in by the tenant of any unit shall be cause for termination of tenancy,” the lawsuit said.

However, Harvey was not evicted, despite the charges he faced while he was a tenant.

The lawsuit also states the security company was “required to monitor the video cameras in the hallways for any suspicious activity that should be investigated,” and failed to do so.

Both Harvey and Day have been charged in connection to Jenkins’ death, KSDK reported.

Day admitted to his role in helping move Jenkins’ body, according to a police report, KTVZ reported. He is set to be sentenced in April. Harvey is set for trial in March.