Man on parole for 1980 murder found guilty of shooting girlfriend in January

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Anthony Wren, who was on parole for a previous murder over 30 years ago, was found guilty of assaulting and kidnapping his girlfriend in January 2023.

Wren, 69, was found guilty of First-Degree Domestic Assault, Armed Criminal Action and Kidnapping in what authorities say was a ‘near-fatal attack’ on his girlfriend on January 18, 2023. At the time of the attack, Wren was on parole for a 1980 murder.

According to the St. Louis County Circuit Attorney’s Office, the assault took place at Wren’s girlfriend’s home in the 3600 block of Natural Bridge. His girlfriend asked him to leave, but he refused and became agitated. When she tried to leave, police say Wren shot her once in the head. He refused to call for help until his girlfriend, who was bleeding profusely, promised to say that she had shot herself. He then placed a 911 call and fled.

His girlfriend was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Police investigators who interviewed her in the hospital found that the entrance and exit wounds she had sustained were not consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot. When confronted with the facts, she told police that Wren was responsible. Although she has largely recovered from the gunshot wound, court documents say she sustained nerve damage to her face and partial loss of vision in one eye.

“This guilty verdict was the result of outstanding teamwork and is demonstrative of our commitment to vigorously prosecute and clear the backlog of violent crimes in the City of St. Louis,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “It is gratifying that we were able to get justice for the victim of this heinous assault.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorney Adrine Krikorian. After deliberating for less than three hours, the jury delivered its verdict on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Wren will be sentenced on October 10.