ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The St. Charles Police Department has identified the minor killed over the weekend in a St. Charles home as 16-year-old Carter Bennett.

Police said the teen was killed by his mother Saturday in their home in the 3200 block of Lightfoot Drive.

Neighbors and community members reacted to the news Wednesday by adding to a growing memorial, honoring the late teen.

Court documents reveal before 11 a.m. Monday, police went to the home and found the teenager dead.

Investigators learned Bennett’s mother, identified as Krista Roy, 47, had attempted to take her own life earlier in the day and was at the hospital. She has since been charged with first-degree murder in connection to his death.

Police said detectives went to the hospital and detained Roy after she was released. They said Roy admitted to killing her son during questioning.

Roy told detectives she took her ex-husband’s Bersa .380 from his home on Sept. 26 and intended to shoot her son and turn the gun on herself.

After shooting Bennett while he slept, Roy told detectives she laid down in bed next to him. She heard her son cry out to her, which prompted her to get a knife from the kitchen and stab him in order to put Bennett “out of his pain.”

The St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Roy with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Roy is being held in the St. Charles County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond.

Roy entered a not guilty plea Wednesday and was denied a bond change. She has a bond hearing scheduled for next Thursday at 9 a.m. at the St. Charles County courthouse.

The St. City of St. Charles School District confirms Bennett was previously a student in the district and last attended St. Charles High School in the 2024-2025 school year.

The district emailed a statement to parents Wednesday notifying them of the tragic loss:

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of a former student. Our hearts go out to the child's family, friends and all who loved him. Our staff members are prepared to provide care and connect students with counseling support if needed,” the district wrote.