Father of Child Victim in Rape Case Killed After Being Offered $12K Bribe to Drop Charges in St Louis, Hitman Also Found Dead
A key witness, who was the father of a sex crime victim, was offered a bribe to not press charges in the case. He refused to accept the hush money, leading to his murder and the death of his killer.
The man killed was a witness in the case against Lavor Harmon. Harmon, 39, faces three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy and one count of second-degree statutory rape. He was charged in June.
Lavor Accused of Engaging in Sexual Activities with 15-Year-Old Child
Charging documents against Harmon said that on or about March 21, he met his victim while she was walking home from the school bus. The charging documents said they exchanged phone numbers, and he later picked her up and took her shopping. After that, he took her to a home and engaged in sexual activities. The victim was 15 at the time.
Prosecutors allege his 44-year-old sister, Lavonda Harmon, showed up at the father's doorstep with a mystery man and a handful of $12,000 in cash. The father reportedly refused the cash.According to court records obtained by Fox2Now, the father was fatally shot on July 8 at his home on Bayview Drive in Ferguson. Those records indicate a minor child was present when the man was shot to death.
Hitman Found Dead on the Same Day, Getaway Vehicle Torched
Police said a white Kia was spotted driving away from that scene. Later that same day, the suspected male shooter was found executed in St. Louis, according to investigators. The getaway vehicle was located nearby – torched.
Lavonda Harmon is already out of jail after paying a full $100,000 cash-only bond. Her brother, Lavor Harmon, jailed on a newly-increased $2 million cash-only bond.
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London, July 31, 2025 "Shell generated robust cash flows reflecting strong operational performance in a less favourable macro environment. We continued to deliver on our strategy by enhancing our deep-water portfolio in Nigeria and Brazil, and achieved a key milestone by shipping the first cargo from LNG Canada. Our continued focus on performance, discipline and simplification helped deliver $3.9 billion of structural cost reductions since 2022, with the majority delivered through non-portfolio actions. This focus enables us to commence another $3.5 billion of buybacks for the next three months, the 15th consecutive quarter of at least $3 billion in buybacks." Shell plc Chief Executive Officer, Wael SawanROBUST CASH GENERATION; STRONG OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE Adjusted Earnings1 of $4.3 billion despite lower trading contribution in a weaker margin environment. Robust CFFO of $11.9 billion, supported by strong operational performance, enables commencement of another $3.5 billion share buyback programme for the next three months. Strong balance sheet, with gearing of 19%. 2025 cash capex outlook unchanged at $20 - 22 billion. Total shareholder distributions paid over the last 4 quarters were 46% of CFFO. Achieved $0.8 billion of structural cost reductions in the first half of 2025, of which $0.5 billion is through non-portfolio actions; cumulative reductions since 2022 are $3.9 billion, against CMD25 target of $5 - 7 billion by end of 2028. First cargo shipped from LNG Canada, strengthening our leading LNG position and supporting our ambition to achieve LNG sales cumulative annual growth rate of 4 - 5% to 2030. Further enhanced peer-leading deep-water position with start-up of Mero-4 (Brazil) and announced increase of interests in Gato do Mato (Brazil) and Bonga (Nigeria); continued to high-grade Downstream and R&ES portfolio. $ million1 Adj. Earnings Adj. EBITDA CFFO Cash capex Integrated Gas 1,737 3,875 3,629 1,196 Upstream 1,732 6,638 6,500 2,826 Marketing 1,199 2,181 2,718 429 Chemicals & Products2 118 864 1,372 775 Renewables & Energy Solutions (R&ES) (9) 102 1 555 Corporate (463) (346) (2,283) 36 Less: Non-controlling interest (NCI) 50 Shell Q2 2025 4,264 13,313 11,937 5,817 Q1 2025 5,577 15,250 9,281 4,175 1Income/(loss) attributable to shareholders for Q2 2025 is $3.6 billion. Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures can be found in the unaudited results, available at & Products Adjusted Earnings at a subsegment level are as follows - Chemicals $(0.2) billion and Products $0.3 excluding working capital of $12.3 billion is helped by derivative inflows and JV dividends received. Working capital outflow of $0.4 billion reflects a reduction in JV deposits. $1.7 billion of the JV dividends received were previously held in deposit in the Corporate segment. Net debt excluding leases is $14.3 billion. $ billion1 Q2 2024 Q3 2024 Q4 2024 Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Working capital (0.3) 2.7 2.4 (2.7) (0.4) Divestment proceeds 0.8 0.2 0.8 0.6 (0.0) Free cash flow 10.2 10.8 8.7 5.3 6.5 Net debt 38.3 35.2 38.8 41.5 43.2 1Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures can be found in the unaudited results, available at 2025 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE DRIVERS INTEGRATED GAS Key data Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 outlook Realised liquids price ($/bbl) 64 60 — Realised gas price ($/thousand scf) 7.4 7.2 — Production (kboe/d) 927 913 910 - 970 LNG liquefaction volumes (MT) 6.6 6.7 6.7 - 7.3 LNG sales volumes (MT) 16.5 17.8 — Adjusted Earnings were lower than in Q1 2025, reflecting lower prices and significantly lower trading and optimisation Key data Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 outlook Realised liquids price ($/bbl) 71 64 — Realised gas price ($/thousand scf) 7.4 6.9 — Liquids production (kboe/d) 1,335 1,334 — Gas production (million scf/d) 3,020 2,310 — Total production (kboe/d) 1,855 1,732 1,700 - 1,900 Adjusted Earnings were lower than in Q1 2025, reflecting lower Key data Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 outlook Marketing sales volumes (kb/d) 2,674 2,813 2,600 - 3,100 Mobility (kb/d) 1,964 2,044 — Lubricants (kb/d) 87 85 — Sectors & Decarbonisation (kb/d) 623 684 — Adjusted Earnings were higher than in Q1 2025, driven mainly by improved Mobility unit margins and seasonally higher & PRODUCTS Key data Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 outlook Refinery processing intake (kb/d) 1,362 1,156 — Chemicals sales volumes (kT) 2,813 2,164 — Refinery utilisation (%) 85 94 88 - 96 Chemicals manufacturing plant utilisation (%) 81 72 78 - 86 Indicative refining margin (Updated1 $/bbl) 6.2 8.9 — Indicative chemical margin (Updated1 $/t) 126 166 — 1Q2 2025 indicative margins reflect the divestment of Singapore Energy and Chemicals (E&C) Park.Q2 2025 indicative margins if including Singapore E&C Park would have been: Refining - 7.5$/bbl, Chemicals - 143$/t. Adjusted Earnings were lower than in Q1 2025 with significantly lower trading and optimisation results, reflecting a disconnect between market volatility and supply-demand fundamentals. Chemicals results were impacted by unplanned downtime and a continued weak margin & ENERGY SOLUTIONS Key data Q1 2025 Q2 2025 External power sales (TWh) 76 70 Sales of pipeline gas to end-use customers (TWh) 184 132 Renewables power generation capacity (GW)* 7.5 7.6 in operation (GW) 3.5 3.9 under construction and/or committed for sale (GW) 4.0 3.8 *Excludes Shell's equity share of associates where information cannot be obtained. Adjusted Earnings were in line with Q1 2025 with seasonally lower trading and marketing margins, offset by lower opex. Renewables and Energy Solutions includes activities such as renewable power generation, the marketing and trading and optimisation of power and pipeline gas, as well as carbon credits, and digitally enabled customer solutions. It also includes the production and marketing of hydrogen, development of commercial carbon capture and storage hubs, investment in nature-based projects that avoid or reduce carbon emissions, and Shell Ventures, which invests in companies that work to accelerate the energy and mobility Key data Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 outlook Adjusted Earnings ($ billion) (0.5) (0.5) (0.7) - (0.5) UPCOMING INVESTOR EVENTS October 30, 2025 Third quarter 2025 results and dividendsUSEFUL LINKS Results materials Q2 2025Quarterly Databook Q2 2025Webcast registration Q2 2025Dividend announcement Q2 2025Capital Markets Day 2025 materialsALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE (NON-GAAP) MEASURES This announcement includes certain measures that are calculated and presented on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) such as IFRS, including Adjusted Earnings, Adjusted EBITDA, CFFO excluding working capital movements, free cash flow, Divestment proceeds and Net debt. This information, along with comparable GAAP measures, is useful to investors because it provides a basis for measuring Shell plc's operating performance and ability to retire debt and invest in new business opportunities. Shell plc's management uses these financial measures, along with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, in evaluating the business performance. This announcement may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as Adjusted Earnings and divestments. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile the non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of the company, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are estimated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc's consolidated financial statements. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement, 'Shell', 'Shell Group' and 'Group' are sometimes used for convenience to reference Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words 'we', 'us' and 'our' are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. 'Subsidiaries', 'Shell subsidiaries' and 'Shell companies' as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. The terms 'joint venture', 'joint operations', 'joint arrangements', and 'associates' may also be used to refer to a commercial arrangement in which Shell has a direct or indirect ownership interest with one or more parties. The term 'Shell interest' is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest. This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as 'aim'; 'ambition'; 'anticipate'; 'aspire'; 'aspiration'; ''believe''; 'commit'; 'commitment'; ''could''; 'desire'; ''estimate''; ''expect''; ''goals''; ''intend''; ''may''; 'milestones'; ''objectives''; ''outlook''; ''plan''; ''probably''; ''project''; ''risks''; 'schedule'; ''seek''; ''should''; ''target''; 'vision'; ''will''; 'would' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks, including climate change; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including tariffs and regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, regional conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East, and a significant cyber security, data privacy or IT incident; (n) the pace of the energy transition; and (o) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc's Form 20-F and amendment thereto for the year ended December 31, 2024 (available at and These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, July 31, 2025. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. All amounts shown throughout this announcement are unaudited. The numbers presented throughout this announcement may not sum precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures, due to rounding. Shell's Net Carbon Intensity Also, in this announcement, we may refer to Shell's 'net carbon intensity' (NCI), which includes Shell's carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers' carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers' carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell's NCI also includes the emissions associated with the production and use of energy products produced by others which Shell purchases for resale. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the terms Shell's 'net carbon intensity' or NCI is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries. Shell's Net-Zero Emissions Target Shell's operating plan and outlook are forecasted for a three-year period and ten-year period, respectively, and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next three and ten years. Accordingly, the outlook reflects our Scope 1, Scope 2 and NCI targets over the next ten years. However, Shell's operating plan and outlook cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target, as this target is outside our planning period. Such future operating plans and outlooks could include changes to our portfolio, efficiency improvements and the use of carbon capture and storage and carbon credits. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell's operating plans and outlooks to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target. The content of websites referred to in this announcement does not form part of this announcement. We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F and any amendment thereto, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website The financial information presented in this announcement does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434(3) of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act'). Statutory accounts for the year ended December 31, 2024 were published in Shell's Annual Report and Accounts, a copy of which was delivered to the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales. The auditor's report on those accounts was unqualified, did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report and did not contain a statement under sections 498(2) or 498(3) of the Act. The information in this announcement does not constitute the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements which are contained in Shell's second quarter 2025 unaudited results available on CONTACTS Media: International +44 207 934 5550; U.S. and Canada: Contact form
