[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 11 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PAYING TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS

  (Mr. BELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, on June 22, 2020, while serving as St. Louis 
County prosecutor, we were notified of a crime scene at a local 
restaurant by homicide detectives. Myself and our outreach director at 
the time, Captain Clay Farmer, responded to that scene to support the 
investigation that shortly after would be issued by our office.
  What I witnessed at this scene still haunts me to this very day. I 
had intended this to be more celebratory to honor posthumously the 
great Demetrius Johnson and the legendary St. Louis American 
photographer Wiley Price on his retirement, and I will in the near 
future. In light of the conviction secured in this case yesterday, my 
thoughts are with the family of Kimberly Pelton and my friends, 
Lakeshia Finch and Arlydia Bufford.
  Arlydia is a remarkable young woman, full of energy, and she beat me 
in UNO. Lakeshia, who has documented her heroic recovery from this 
atrocity, exemplifies courage, resiliency, and an unrelenting 
determination.
  These three victims are our St. Louis stars.

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