St. Louis County teenager pleads guilty to carjacking resulting in 61-year-old nurse’s death

 ST. LOUIS – Lashawn T. Clayburn, 19, of  Pine Lawn, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking resulting in death and one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a carjacking resulting in death. Clayburn appeared, today, before United States District Court Henry E. Autrey.

On the evening of January 5, 2019, Naomi Miller left her home in the 2500 block of Arden to get into her vehicle to go to her job, where she worked as a healthcare nurse. Clayburn approached Miller, shot her and stole her vehicle from the driveway of her Pine Lawn home. Police were not called until approximately an hour later. When they arrived at Miller’s home, she had died from the gunshot wound.

Clayburn spent the next several hours driving around in Miller’s vehicle and picking up friends of his for the purpose of going “Joyriding.” About an hour and a half after the homicide, Clayburn pulled up to a Steak N’ Shake off of Jennings Station Road with two friends and was captured on surveillance video. Clayburn was also captured on surveillance at a Taco Bell location where he met with two relatives to discuss disposing of the vehicle. 

The following day, Clayburn met with a group of his friends at a residence in the 8800 block of Alva to trade Miller’s vehicle for another stolen vehicle, since the vehicle Clayburn was driving was associated with Miller’s homicide. Clayburn and his friends, claiming to be part of a gang calling themselves “Murdaa Gang,” took the license plate off of Miller’s vehicle and disposed of it in a neighboring back yard before replacing it with a license plate from another stolen vehicle.

On March 13, 2019, after being interviewed by federal agents relative to the carjacking and Miller’s murder, Clayburn placed a recorded jail call to his cousin in an attempt to secure a false alibi for the night of January 5, 2019. Clayburn used another inmate’s PIN number and told his cousin to “delete the call” in an effort to destroy evidence of the conversation.

“Naomi Miller was a phenomenal woman. She was kind, humble and generous. She valued family and friends and never met a stranger. My aunt was the type of person that would have given you the last dollar in her pocket. What happened to her was not fair, but I believe my aunt would forgive the people that did this to her,” said Shanna Wakefield, Miller’s niece. ”My family is so thankful for all of the hard work that law enforcement put into this investigation, and the work of the US Attorney’s Office in getting the case prosecuted. While my family knows that nothing can bring our wonderful aunt back, we find comfort knowing that the guilty individuals will be held responsible for their actions, and hope this will make others think twice before taking another innocent life.”

“Ms. Miller’s death was a senseless tragedy, and this case highlights our office’s commitment to inter-agency cooperation to achieve some measure of justice on behalf of victims’ families,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “The agencies involved in this investigation showed tireless dedication in exhausting every lead until they found the perpetrator.”

Judge Autrey has set sentencing for August 19, 2021. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, North County Police Cooperative and Major Case Squad investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Angie Danis is handling the case.