Woman falsely accuses 3 Black men of ‘Knockout’ game attack
A 23-year-old St. Louis woman who was badly beaten by her boyfriend blamed the act on 3 innocent black men. Police charged 25-year-old Justin Simms and his girlfriend Ashley DePew, 23, with filing false police reports.
The two insisted that DePew was sucker-punched by a “random thug” outside the Trophy Room bar in south city.
DePew told police and KMOV-TV (Channel 4) that she may have been the victim of the violent phenomenon turned national mania known as the “knockout game,” where groups, especially of teenagers, viciously attack random victims.
The fake knockout narrative went like this: DePew and Simms stopped by the Trophy Room on Arsenal early on November 17 to pick up a drunk friend. The couple was separated in the crowd gathered outside, and someone stepped forward to punch DePew in the face.
The truth is that the couple was arguing while driving when Simms struck DePew in the eye out of anger. The couple originally told the lie to DePew’s parents, who made the connection to the “Knockout” game. DePew filed a police report two days later.
DePew suffered from a double fracture and needed reconstructive surgery. Police noticed inconsistencies in DePew ‘s story early on which prompted them to further look into the case.
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