Assistant Attorney General Natalie Warner said Lawson was frustrated with the obligations of being a single parent and the resulting feuds with Breiana Ray. He had texted friends saying he wished he were childless and hated his life, she said.

When Breiana Ray texted him to tell him he needed formula, he picked up a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun he had bought in January from a holster in his closet, loaded it , then put on jeans instead of his ubiquitous. basketball shorts so he could put them in his belt, Warner said.

“He knowingly and willfully made the decision to kill each of them,” Warner told jurors.

He stopped at Schnucks for the formula, and arrived around 8:50 p.m. He then paced the apartment, acting oddly and circling around, until Breiana Ray had her back turned so she wasn’t fighting. Lawson shot her in the head while washing bottles at the sink, Warner said.

Lawson shot Gwendolyn Ray twice in the head after she came down to see her daughter, then set fire to two places in the apartment and locked the door behind him, so he wouldn’t have to see his son die.

“Nobody sets fire to a 10 month old baby with no intention of killing that baby,” Warner said.

Aiden died in fear, she said.