William Palmer, a Missouri dad of three, kept his eyes open for those in need. When he saw 36-year-old Brittany Rivoire walking in downtown St. Louis in the early morning hours of February 1, 2026, he offered her a ride to stay warm. That decision proved to be a deadly mistake. After accepting the offer, Rivoire allegedly shot Palmer in the head and left him for dead. Palmer leaves behind a fiancée and three children now living with unimaginable grief, wondering why a good man met such a tragic end.
Palmer and a friend went downtown looking for scrap metal, KMOV reported. When they saw Rivoire, she allegedly asked them for a ride to a warming shelter, which Palmer obliged. His friend reportedly got out of the truck a short time later, concerned about Rivoire’s behavior. After the friend left, Rivoire allegedly shot Palmer in the head while downtown just before 2:30 a.m. After the shooting, she left.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, cameras caught Rivoire shooting Palmer. She then went to a fast food restaurant and got a ride from a second man. Police used cameras in the area to track Rivoire to the man’s vehicle. They reportedly found the weapon used in the shooting with Rivoire. The driver denied any knowledge of the alleged crime and reportedly didn’t realize she had a gun.
Palmer’s fiancée, Riyen Jones, told KMOV he always looked out for those in need. “I used to tell him all the time not to pick up people off the side of the road anymore. He did it a lot. If he saw someone walking, he was picking them up and taking them as far as he could,” Jones said.
She added that Palmer went to the city that night to collect scrap metal. “If there was a dumpster in sight, he was looking in it,” Jones said, per the outlet. “As far as we know, she asked him at a gas station to take her to a warming shelter because she was cold.”
Jones called Palmer the glue that kept their family together. She cannot understand why anyone would want to hurt him.
“For somebody to take him for granted when all he was doing was helping her and then to do it to basically take his truck is … I can’t wrap my head around it,” Jones said.
Ashleigh Palmer, William Palmer’s daughter, shared her frustrations in an emotional Facebook post.
“He was tryna help uu. Get uu out the cold. And uu killed him all for a truck tht didnt even last uu 5blocks. Brittany Rivoire i pray for your sake uu never get out of there. Uu took and amazing father, grandfather, friend. and husband. Uu are a sick excuse for a f—–g human. The amount of pain i feel right now is unbearable,” she wrote. “Not knowin how my dads last noments were. If he was hurting. If he was scared. Its so many questions that will probably never be answered.”
According to court documents, Rivoire faces charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle, and unlawful possession of a firearm. A judge ordered her jailed without bond.
How sad that we live in a world where someone dies just trying to be kind. Seems like we just can’t trust anyone anymore.
