ST. LOUIS – After more than six years of heartbreak, the family of Kristina Curry has some answers.

Curry, 16, was found shot to death outside Roosevelt High School in May 2019. Police never named a suspect and, for years, her family tried to mourn their loss, not knowing who was responsible.

“It was heartbreaking. And it’s been heartbreaking over the past six years just not knowing,” Alexis Hatter, Curry’s older sister, said. “I think that was steering everything, a lot of the emotions, not knowing what happened.”

Hatter described the emotional toll the case has taken on her family, saying it has been very difficult.

“We had no answers. We had no clue. We didn't know anything,” she said.

This week, police announced a breakthrough in the case. Court records say that text messages found in Curry's phone show she had planned to meet up with her then-boyfriend at the high school on the night she died. Authorities have now charged that man, Marquise Quinn, 26, with first-degree murder.

“Every homicide victim matters, and every victim’s family deserves closure and justice,” St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Mitch McCoy said.

Curry, one of six siblings, is remembered by her family as a sweet and confident young woman who left a lasting impression. Hatter says she hopes others remember her for who she was and not for how she died.

“She was the fourth child. She was very bubbly. Very unique in her own way. Very confident,” Hatter said. “Like I tell a lot of people, I wish I had her level of confidence.”

In the years since her death, Curry’s family has continued to honor her memory through balloon releases and celebrations, including a party on what would have been her 23rd birthday earlier this year.

With the recent arrest, Hatter said their next gathering will hold deeper meaning.

“The family does plan to get together sometime this weekend and throw some sort of party because we finally got somewhere,” she said. “So, it's been a lot. It's been bittersweet.”

Quinn made his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon.