‘I just don’t wanna die’: Missouri teen lured to his death, pleaded for his life before being gunned down

15-year-old Miles Young left home on March 12 believing he was going to meet a girl. What he didn’t know was that the planned meet up was just a ploy to lure him to an isolated location and take his life.

Two suspects have since been charged with the teen’s murder. Yefry Archaga and Praize King, who are both 18, stand accused of gunning Young down as he attempted to flee. According to court documents the Missouri teen pleaded with his murderers, telling them, “I just don’t wanna die,” unfortunately his words fell of deaf ears.

A motive for the killing has not been revealed by authorities but according to an article from CNN two witnesses claimed that the girl who lured Young to his death “blamed Miles for the death of the victim in a 2025 homicide case.”

How Miles Young was lured into a death trap

Archaga, another adult suspect, and a female juvenile discussed their plans regarding Young while driving in a dark Mercedes around Springfield according to a probable cause statement. There were two other juveniles in the car during these discussions.

The group then switched vehicles, taking the car of a sister of one of the suspects before splitting up. The female, identified in court documents as “J1” took the Mercedes to pick up Young with the other four taking the second car. Around 2:15 AM on March 12 J1 arrived at Young’s home, the teen was under the “belief the two would be having sexual intercourse,” according to the detective.

Two juvenile witnesses, identified as “W1” and “W2,” who were with Young at the time warned against him getting into the car with J1 as “W1 and W2 reported J1 blamed Miles for the death of the victim in a 2025 homicide case.” The details of the 2025 homicide case have not been made public, the prosecutor in the Miles Young case stated he could not comment on whether the teen was set to testify in said case.

The ambush

Young stayed on the phone with W2 while he was in the car with J1. It’s here that the other four suspects blocked the road with the other vehicle and Young got out and began running. W2 “described hearing Miles fall to the ground or drop his phone” as well as the sound of gunshots. They also claimed to hear Young state “I just don’t wanna die,” before hearing more gunshots. W2 then disconnected the call and phoned W1 to tell them what they had heard.

The phone Young had been using belonged to the first witness who used Apple’s “Find My” app to track the location. When they arrived they found Miles Young lying on the ground with “a substantial amount of blood.” The authorities were called and the teen was rushed to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The immigration status of suspect Archaga has sparked a fierce debate with Missouri State Sen. Curtis Trent claiming things would have gone differently “if there had not been an illegal alien present in the jurisdiction.” Archaga’s attorney, Adam Woody, claims the 18-year-old’s nationality and background is “completely irrelevant.”