Inset: Kourtney Freeman. Background: The Missouri home where 11-year-old Kourtney Freeman was shot and killed during a Snapchat meetup gone wrong (WDAF/YouTube).
In Missouri, an 18-year-old has been handed a 20-year prison sentence after a tragic incident involving the shooting of an 11-year-old girl. The young victim, Kourtney Freeman, was shot multiple times in the head, chest, back, and buttocks while inside her home. The crime unfolded in front of her family after a Snapchat-arranged meeting for a marijuana purchase turned deadly, as detailed in court documents.
Jackson County prosecutors described the harrowing scene in their sentencing memorandum for Re’Mori Roath, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his role in the April 2024 shooting. They emphasized the terror experienced by those in the home, who witnessed the young girl’s tragic death: “Several individuals were held under siege in a home while it was being riddled with bullets,” the memorandum stated. Roath’s sentencing occurred on Monday, bringing some closure to the family, though not without lasting trauma.
Prosecutors highlighted the emotional scars left on Kourtney’s family, who now face constant reminders of their loss every time they return home. “Every time the victim’s family returns home, passes the vestibule where she died, or sees a picture where she enjoyed better times, they will be traumatized and retraumatized over and again. They will never see her smiles or her tears,” the statement read.
A probable cause affidavit reveals the chilling details of how Roath, who faced charges as an adult, orchestrated the meeting through Snapchat. He communicated with someone at the residence about purchasing marijuana, according to the affidavit. A female resident disclosed to police that she was in contact with an unidentified person via Snapchat, discussing the sale.
The affidavit recounts how the individual claimed to be waiting in a white vehicle outside the location, with Kourtney’s family on the porch. The family then moved inside, only for gunfire to erupt through the front storm glass door shortly thereafter, striking Kourtney inside the home.
Witnesses reported to police that the shooting involved a rapid succession of gunfire, followed by a brief pause before a single shot was fired, as described in the affidavit. The aftermath included shattered glass from the storm door, scattered across the porch and into the house, marking the site of the senseless violence.
“Pools of apparent blood were located inside the front door of the residence and in the dining room, on the front porch, down the stairs and onto the sidewalk near the street,” the affidavit says. “Detectives observed one spent 9 mm casing on the front porch, and 11 additional spent 9 mm casings around the yard and leading up to the front porch.”
Kourtney’s mother, Samantha Freeman, spoke to local ABC affiliate KMBC after her daughter’s murder, saying, “She was a baby. She didn’t even get a chance to do anything to be whoever she wanted to be.”
Police used surveillance footage, witness testimony, cellphone data and DNA evidence to track Roath down and arrest him. A Glock 17 9 mm handgun and the same shell casings found at the murder scene were discovered in his bedroom during an execution of a search warrant, cops reported.
Roath was arrested at school in May 2024 and charged with murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He told Kourtney’s family at his sentencing that he was sorry about what happened and called the shooting a “sad circumstance” that “shouldn’t have happened like that,” according to local CBS affiliate KCTV.
“I know 20 years is a long time, but not long enough for me,” Kourtney’s sister, Kaliah Washington, told KCTV after the sentencing hearing. “I got a little closure from it. Not enough.”
