Man Aware He Had HIV Exposed at Least 61 to Disease, Officials Say

A man who knew he was infected with the AIDS virus had sex with at least 61 women and girls before he was gunned down in a possible revenge killing earlier this year, authorities said Friday.

At least 12 of the women are infected with HIV, some are pregnant, and at least one has delivered a baby that carries the virus, health officials said.

The women and girls had sex with Darnell McGee, 28, during a period of two years, said Elisa Daues, spokeswoman for the Missouri Bureau of STD-HIV Prevention. “That’s not a final number. It’s changing every day,” she said.

“It’s frantic,” said Beth Meyerson, chief of the bureau of sexually transmitted diseases for the Missouri Department of Health. “We need to find these people. This is a very serious health threat.”

McGee’s recent sexual partners could have contracted the virus and thus could pass it on.

McGee was driving in a residential area with a young woman Jan. 15, when a man flagged him down, walked up to the window, shot McGee at point-blank range and then went through his pockets. Police are unsure whether the killing was a robbery or revenge against McGee for spreading the virus.

McGee, who tested positive for the AIDS virus in 1992, preyed on girls with little or no confidence, flattering them and promising them gifts, health officials said.

“He didn’t care about spreading the virus,” Meyerson said. “It was a clear case of power.”

One of McGee’s victims told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch how McGee had lingered in front of a liquor store near East St. Louis Junior High School. He smiled and waved at all the girls.

Confidentiality prevented health workers from commenting in detail on the McGee case, except to say he knew he was HIV-positive when he had sex with girls and women, ranging in age from 12 to 22. They were white and black, middle class and poor, from all parts of the region.

Some girls told health officials that McGee cruised in front of junior high schools and skating rinks.