Homicide Victim Identified as Charges Advance Against Suspect

KINLOCH, MO. — St. Louis County Police on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, identified a man killed in Kinloch as 50-year-old Aaron Emery, four days after prosecutors charged a St. Louis man with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the case.

Police said they believe Emery was unhoused. A motive was not provided in the information that was released.

Isaac Arman, 53, of the 7200 block of Canterbury Avenue, was charged Oct. 12, 2026, and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond, with no 10% option. The charges are accusations, and Arman is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Police initially reported the homicide on Oct. 11, saying officers found a man with trauma to his body near Wesley Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death was pending autopsy results.

According to the probable cause statement, officers responding to a report of a suspicious person in Kinloch encountered a witness who said a man driving a white car had been acting loudly and erratically before driving away. Officers found Emery’s body nearby in a grass median at Witt and Martin Luther King Boulevard with multiple stab wounds, the statement said.

A trail camera near the scene recorded Arman’s white car in the area at the time, according to the statement. Police later located the car at his residence and found damage to its passenger-side mirror and windshield. An image from a Flock camera taken earlier that day showed no such damage, the statement said.

Police also found blood evidence on the car’s passenger seat, ceiling, driver’s side door and front passenger door, according to the statement. A black jacket recovered from Arman’s apartment was consistent with clothing described by the witness, and officers found two knives on him when he was detained.

During an interview, Arman said he owned the vehicle and was its only driver, according to the statement. He told investigators the car had been stolen in North County before the incident, forcing him to walk toward Maplewood, and that he happened upon the vehicle in Kinloch.

St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives are handling the investigation.

These charges, as well as the statements made herein, are based upon probable cause. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Please contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 to speak with investigators if you have any information regarding this incident. To remain anonymous or potentially receive a reward, please contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477).