Megan Boken, a 23-year old volleyball star who attended St. Louis University, was shot to death on Saturday afternoon in her car just hours before she was speculated to take part in a game at her alma mater. Laid low with suspicious circumstances, the shooting has puzzled investigators who now say they don’t believe she knew her killer.

“We don’t have a motive but are investigating it from a robbery standpoint,” said David Marzullo, of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. “We don’t have any evidence that she knew [the gunman].”

Boken was speaking to her mother on her cellular telephone round the time of the shooting; in keeping with her mother, the telephone “went static” they usually were bring to an end. When Boken didn’t appear on the game, those that had expected her became worried and arranged a search. She was later present in her Volkswagen with wounds to her neck and chest, and was taken to a native hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

“i suspect everybody was in a frantic mode wondering where she was. Parents were out combing the neighborhoods,” St. Louis University coach Ann Kourdes said.

Police had been scanning surveillance tapes from the realm and believe their suspect is a black male in his 20′s, between 5’8″ and 5’10″. He was wearing a charcoal grey shirt, khaki pants, a baseball cap, and white tennis shoes.

Image credit: Charles Cherney, Chicago Tribune