Missouri Death Row

968 S.W. 2d 100 (Mo.banc 1998)

944 S.W.2d 901 (Mo.banc 1997)

923 S.W.2d 301 (Mo.banc 1996)

10/28/03 – Death sentence commuted to life without parole by Missouri Supreme Court.

Supreme Court of Missouri (en banc) February 22, 2000

Danny R. Wolfe’s conviction was reversed and remanded by the Supreme Court of Missouri in November, 2003. A new trial was held in Camden County in June, 2006.  Today Wolfe  was sentenced to two terms of Life without Parole, plus 50 years on each of two counts of armed criminal action, and life for robbery.

Case Facts: On February 19, 1997, defendant went to the home of a co-worker in Camdenton, and asked to leave a bag there. Agreeing, the co-worker placed the bag in the laundry room. Another man staying at the house looked in the bag and saw what looked like a gray or white wig. That evening, defendant went to a bar in Lake Ozark. He met Jessica Cox introduced himself as “Danny,” and played a game of pool with her. Afterward, they sat at the bar and talked. Defendant asked Cox if she was “into drags.” She said yes. Defendant asked if she could “get rid of’ some drugs for him. She agreed.

When the bar closed defendant and Cox left in his pick-up. Defendant said that he would give her a ride home and could get her the drugs. The two then stopped by defendant’s room at a motel for about 20 minutes. Defendant said that they should go to Camdenton. He drove them to the coworker’s house, where he retrieved the bag left earlier. They then returned to the motel.

Defendant told Cox that they would have to go to Greenview to “pick up some money,” but could not leave until 4:30 a.m. Cox asked defendant to take her home. Defendant replied that it would be worth her wait. She decided to stay.

Defendant took some silver handcuffs from the bag. Cox asked why he had them. Defendant said not to worry, he wasn’t going to use them on her. The pair watched television and talked for about two hours.

Around 4:30 a.m. on February 20, the two drove into Camdenton. Defendant stopped at a gas station. Handing over $6, he told her to buy a pair of jersey gloves, which she bought. They headed toward Greenview on Highway 7 by the home of Leonard and Lena Walters. After about a quarter mile, defendant pulled into a gravel road, turned the truck around, and parked facing the highway. It was about 5:15 a.m.

Defendant announced that he planned to rob the Walters, whom he described as “loaded.” Defendant had been to the house before and said that the Walters had a car for sale. He had indicated that he would return with his girlfriend. Defendant instructed Cox to test-drive the car with Mr. Walters for about 15 minutes, while he would stay behind, handcuff Mrs. Walters, and rob them. Defendant told Cox to call him “Sam” around the Walters and to use “Jo-Jo” for herself.

Defendant was wearing black, shiny, parachute pants and a camouflage jacket, which he had changed into at the motel. He took out the handcuffs, put on the jersey gloves, and polished the handcuffs. Defendant gave Cox a pair of gloves that were already in the truck.

After waiting in the truck for about two hours, defendant drove back to the Walters’ house and pulled into the driveway. He then knocked on the front door. Mrs. Walters came to the door, wearing what “looked like a nightgown.” Defendant entered the house and came back out with Mr. Walters. They walked to a red Cadillac in front of the house.

Cox joined them at the Cadillac. Mr. Walters invited Cox to test-drive it. Defendant asked Mr. Walters if he was going along. Mr. Walters replied there was no reason to. Cox said she would appreciate it, to tell about the car. Mr. Walters then got in the front passenger seat. As Cox put the car in drive, defendant jumped into the passenger side back seat, saying, “Let’s go, Jo-Jo.”

Cox drove toward Greenview. Mr. Walters and defendant discussed the car. After driving a while, Cox turned around, returning toward the Walters’ house.

Hearing a “loud bang,” Cox swerved and glanced over to see Mr. Walters’ head fall forward with blood coming out of his mouth. Defendant had shot Mr. Walters in the back of the head. Cox then saw defendant pull what looked like a gun away from Mr. Walters’ head.

Defendant directed Cox to keep driving. He patted down Mr. Walters and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, he said, “This guy’s loaded.” Cox looked over and saw a large amount of cash.

As Cox pulled into the driveway, defendant told her to park the car where it had been earlier. Before the car fully stopped, defendant jumped out and walked straight to the house. He told Mrs. Walters that he needed to use the phone because Mr. Walters had had a heart attack.

Once in the house, defendant shot Mrs. Walters in the chest with a shotgun while she crouched in front of him. This wound did not kill her. Defendant then stabbed Mrs. Walters – once on the left side, and four times on the right side – while she begged. “Please God, no, no, no.” The fatal stab was to the heart. Mrs. Walters did not die immediately, remaining conscious for another three minutes.

Cox heard a “loud bang,” “a bunch of ruckus” from the house, and then silence for about ten minutes. Defendant left the house carrying a safe, which he loaded in the back of the truck. As they left, Cox asked if defendant was going to kill her. He replied that she was his partner, so he was not going to kill her.

Defendant pulled off the road, unloaded the safe, opened it with some tools, and rummaged through it, discarding some contents but stuffing others in his pockets. Defendant then climbed into the truck and drove away. Shortly, he turned the truck around, and retrieved his tools.

Defendant then drove to a subdivision, where he had worked as a painter. Defendant said he was going to get rid of the gun. After getting a key from one house, defendant drove to another area and left the truck for about 10 or 15 minutes. When he returned, he was in painter’s clothes. Cox did not see the black, nylon pants he was wearing earlier. Defendant told Cox he had thrown the gun into the lake.

Defendant then stopped by a cigarette store where he was painting later that day. The owner testified that defendant said he had to go get some paint.

After leaving the cigarette store, defendant handed Cox a large amount of cash. He said it was enough to keep her quiet; if she told the police, she would be charged as an accessory to murder; or if she got bail, she would be killed.

Cox asked to be dropped off at the hospital. There, Cox called her fiancé between 8:30 and 9:30, saying she had been kidnapped, the kidnapper had been caught, and it was all over. Cox’s fiancé’s truck was broken, so he told her to call her friends. Two friends testified that they received phone calls from Cox around 9:00, asking them to pick her up.

After dropping Cox off defendant purchased paint from a supply store, at 9:12 a.m. (according to the invoice).

Cox claims she lied about the kidnapping story because her life would be in danger if she told the truth. Cox told the kidnapping story to at least three other people. The story spread and became the “talk of the town.”

Later that week a local bartender called Cox’s fiance. He said that a man resembling Cox’s kidnapper had come in, and someone had recognized him and attacked him. The man attacked was, in fact, defendant. The police were called, and Cox admitted to her fiance that she fabricated the kidnapping story.

Cox then told her fiancé that she had witnessed one, and maybe two, murders and feared for her life. She consulted an attorney. Through negotiations with the prosecuting attorney, Cox received immunity in exchange for her testimony.

Cox detailed to the police what happened to the Walters. She took them to where defendant rummaged (and left) the safe. Investigating the scene, police examined the safe and found loose change (including quarters) and other contents strewn about the area. She showed them defendant’s motel room and truck. She identified the house where they picked up the bag. She confirmed a photograph of defendant. She pointed out the subdivision where defendant changed clothes.

When defendant was arrested, three sets of silver handcuffs were in his room. Defendant waived his Miranda rights. At the beginning of the interview, defendant was calm, showing little emotion. As police related Cox’s details, defendant became nervous and apprehensive.

Police searched the subdivision where defendant changed clothes. In a storage area they discovered a pair of black pants and tennis shoes with the same pattern as shoeprints on the floors of the Walters’ house. From defendant’s truck, they seized a pair of jersey gloves, and a pry bar.

In the dumpster at defendant’s motel, police retrieved a .25 caliber cartridge consistent with a misfire from a .25 caliber gun. Also in the dumpster were a bag with a camouflage jacket and a synthetic “wig or beard,” another bag containing two boxes of .25 caliber rounds, three ring boxes, and various papers with defendant’s name on them.

Mr. Walters was shot with a .25 caliber gun. A spent cartridge was found on Mr. Walters’ back collar and a live round on the back seat of the Cadillac.

The Walters’ bedroom was in shambles, with drawers open, items littering the room, a shotgun on the floor, and a .22 rifle laying across the bed. A live .25 cartridge lay on the kitchen floor, near a six- to eight-inch fillet knife. Footprints in dried dirt also appeared on the kitchen floor. Mrs. Walters’ body was face down in the hallway, with cuts consistent with the fillet knife. She also had a shotgun wound to the chest.

In addition to Cox’s testimony, the State called Paul Hileman who was in the Camden County Jail at the same time as defendant. Hileman testified that defendant bragged to him about the murders, relating several details. At the time of trial Hileman was in prison for first-degree property damage. Hileman had two prior convictions of burglary and stealing, two prior forgery convictions, and two prior interference-with custody convictions. The defense presented two impeachment witnesses against Hileman.

The local bartender also testified that about a week before the murders, defendant offered to sell him a .25 caliber handgun. He then testified that about a week after the murders, defendant “sold” him a bag full of loose quarters.

After deliberating for 12 hours, the jury returned a guilty verdict. It later returned two death sentences, finding five statutory aggravating circumstances as to Mr. Walters and six aggravators as to Mrs. Walters.

842 S.W. 2d 98 (Mo. banc 1992)

Death sentence commuted at request of Pope. Darrell Mease was scheduled to be executed on the day Pope John Paul the second arrived in Missouri in 1999 for a 31-hour visit. Mease faced the death penalty because of the murders of three people in southwest Missouri. His execution was delayed until after the Pope had gone home. It never happened. The Pope asked Carnahan to show mercy to Mease. A few days later, Carnahan commuted Mease’s sentence to life without parole. [Missourinet story]

Case Facts: During 1987 Darrell Mease became acquainted with Lloyd Lawrence and participated in the manufacture and sales of methamphetamine. Lawrence told Mease that he would teach him how to manufacture the drug. When this did not occur the relationship between the two men became strained. In late 1987 Lawrence gave Mease some pills which made him sick. Fearing for his safety Mease and his girlfriend, Mary Epps, left the Taney County, Missouri area in December 1987. Before leaving Mease took four pounds of crank and four bottles of a chemical used in the manufacturing process from Lawrence. He placed the goods in a backpack and hid them in the Reed Springs, Missouri area.

Mease and Epps then traveLed across country until they returned to Missouri in May 1 988. Mease had learned in a telephone conversation with his mother that Lawrence was going to kill him. MSse decided he needed to return to Missouri in order to settle his differences with Lawrence.

Mease built a concealed position for himself near the road that led to the Lawrence residence. At about noon on May 15, 1988 Mease observed Lloyd, his wife Frankie and their grandson Willie Lawrence riding four wheeled all terrain vehicles. Willie passed Mease who was hiding in a nearby wooded area. As Lloyd and Frankie Lawrence passed Mease he fired twice with a shotgun hitting Lloyd and Frankie. Mease then shot Lloyd a second time with the shotgun. Mease then came out of his hiding spot. Willie Lawrence then turned around and Mease shot Willie Lawrence with the shotgun. Mease then shot each member of the Lawrence family in the head with the shotgun. Mease took Lloyd’s wallet, a watch and two rings. He removed $600 from the wallet and hid it under a nearby log.

Mease then made his escape with Mary Epps and they left Missouri traveling to various states across the country. In January 1989 Mease was arrested in Arizona on two outstanding felony nonsupport warrants from Stone County, Missouri and an Unlawful Use of a Weapons warrant from Taney County, Missouri. He was returned to Missouri where he confessed to the murders of the Lawrences.

Missouri Supreme Court Case Number SC82743

Bobby Joe Mayes resentenced to life in prison. State of Missouri, ex rel. Bobby Joe Mayes v. The Honorable John D. Wiggins – Case Number: SC85657 (Hand down Date: 12/07/2004)

Bobby Jo Mayes was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed his convictions on direct appeal but reversed his original sentence and remanded for a retrial of his penalty phase. State v. Mayes, 63 S.W.3d 615 (Mo. banc 2001). Following retrial, the jury found the presence of aggravating circumstances in connection with the murders but could not agree on punishment. The court discharged the jury, overruled Mayes’ motion for a life sentence and ordered another penalty phase trial. The Missouri Supreme Court held the trial court is prohibited from taking any further action than to sentence Mayes to life in prison.

Audio: Oral argument on appeal to Missouri Supreme Court (11/10/04)
Audio: Oral argument on appeal to Missouri Supreme Court (9/6/01)
Text: Missouri Supreme Court Opinion: SC82743 (Handdown Date: 12/18/01)

Case Facts: At the time of the murder on August 10, 1998, Bobby Joe Mayes was married to Sondra, and lived with her and his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Amanda, in Houston, Missouri. Mayes was scheduled to go to trial the next day, August 11, for committing statutory sodomy on his two minor daughters from a previous relationship. He wanted Sondra and Amanda to testify for him, and they had been endorsed as defense witnesses.

Evidence was presented that the couple was having financial and marital difficulties. Sondra had told Mayes that she would not testify for him unless he signed a document that purported to waive his right to contest Sondra’s ability to unilaterally convey the couple’s marital real property. On August 6, 1998, just four days before the murder, Mayes talked briefly with an acquaintance, Michael James, about his financial difficulties and indicated that he did not want to return home when his wife was there because they might get into a conflict. Mayes also unsuccessfully sought Mr. James’ help to buy a gun, allegedly to rob another man.

The next day, August 7, 1998, Mayes signed the waiver of marital rights that Sondra had requested in return for her promise to testify. The State presented evidence that Sondra went to work at 8 a.m. on August 10, 1998, as usual. Sondra told her co-worker and friend, Cora Wade, that even though Defendant had signed the waiver “she had not been able to work up the courage to tell him that she still wasn’t going to testify for him.” Although Cora and Sondra planned to talk more in the afternoon, Sondra went home during her lunch break, as she did on most days, but never returned to work.

Cora called Sondra’s house at about 1:15 p.m., when she realized Sondra had not yet returned to work, but no one answered. According to Mr. Noakes, about 45 minutes later Duane Sutton, Sondra’s father, came by the house and knocked on the door. Mr. Sutton testified that he called through the window for Sondra, but no one answered.

Around 4:20 p.m., Mr. Noakes saw Mayes return home. Shortly thereafter Defendant called 911. When asked what was wrong, he said, “I don’t know. I just come home and, I don’t know. You just need to send somebody over here,” and that someone was “hurt” and was not breathing. He refused to check for a pulse, stating, “I’m not going in there,” but agreed not to touch anything and to flag down the ambulance.

Officer Campbell arrived to find Mayes pacing back and forth in the driveway and rubbing his hands with a blue shop cloth. When asked what was wrong, Defendant responded he did not know. The officer looked around the house and discovered Sondra’s body in the master bedroom. When the next officer to arrive asked Mayes what was going on, he threw up his arms and shouted, “I have an alibi, I have an alibi. I’ve been fishing for the last three and a half hours.” He was perspiring and “fidgety” and continued to wipe and scrub his hands with the blue shop cloth. When Chief of Police Kirkman arrived, Mayes said he had last seen his wife at 7:00 a.m., that he had been fishing at “Flat Rock” or “White Rock,” and that he talked to her on the telephone briefly when he returned home to make a sandwich before returning to fish at either “Flat” or “Duke.” Still massaging his hands, Mayes did not ask about his wife or even mention Amanda. Chief Kirkman observed ligature marks on the back of his hands.

After investigating Sondra’s murder for some time, police learned that Amanda should have been home but had not been seen. Her partially clothed body was found on the floor next to her bed, with a blue comforter draped across the front of her body and with a very pronounced ligature mark on her neck. Chief Kirkman advised Mayes of his Miranda rights and placed him under arrest. Police took him to the Texas County jail, where he consented to a search of his person and the seizure of his clothing. By early evening, Fred Martin, Mayes attorney in his pending trial, met with him briefly. Later, a doctor found a laceration on Defendant’s right hand and constriction injuries on the backs of both hands consistent with the ligature mark on Amanda’s neck.

9/30/03 Reversed and Remanded – Life without Parole – PCC #1036512

Missouri Supreme Court Opinion: SC84515

Deandra Buchanan lived in a house with his stepfather, aunt and girlfriend – the mother of his two children. On November 7, 2000, he and his stepfather, aunt, girlfriend and others celebrated the fact that the aunt had obtained an apartment to which she would soon move. At some point during the celebration, Buchanan concluded that others were trying to kill him or put him in jail. He threatened those present at the celebration and eventually shot to death his stepfather, aunt and girlfriend and wounded a person who had offered him a ride after the shootings.

Missouri Supreme Court Case Number: SC81666

9/30/03 Reversed and Remanded  – Life without Parole – PCC #1036512

2/19/02 – (Poplar Bluff) A judge has reinstated the death penalty for former Poplar Bluff resident Cecil Barriner. He’s been convicted a second time of murdering a woman and her granddaughter in Tallapoosa five years ago. The judge took the action after a jury found Barriner guilty in his second trial. Barriner got a second trial because the state supreme court ruled improper evidence had been allowed in his first trial.

12/27/2000 – (Jefferson City) The conviction and death sentence of Cecil Barriner was over-turned by the Missouri Supreme Court and a new trial ordered. The Supreme Court ruled that the judge in the trial should not have admitted evidence referring to conduct for which Barriner was never charged.

Audio: Oral arguments on appeal to Missouri Supreme Court
Text: Missouri Supreme Court Opinion

Case Facts: In December 1996, Barriner began to fear that he had failed a urinalysis test for the presence of controlled substances. Barriner was concerned that his probation would be revoked. Resolving to leave his residence in Poplar Bluff, Barriner planned to travel to the Tallapoosa, Missouri, residence of nineteen year old Candy Sisk and Irene Sisk, Candy’s seventy-four year old grandmother, to obtain money from them. Barriner had been in a relationship with Candy Sisk’s mother, Shirley Niswonger, from 1993 until 1996, and during that time had become acquainted with Candy. Barriner had accompanied Niswonger on at least two occasions when she traveled to the Sisks’ house to borrow money. Barriner believed that the Sisks were financially well-to-do.

Late in the afternoon of December 15, 1996, Barriner visited Daniel and Samantha Simmons, friends who lived only a few miles from the Sisk residence. Barriner told Samantha Simmons that he was going to Tallapoosa to collect some money and drove away in the white Ford Taurus automobile he was using for transportation. He returned shortly thereafter, stating that no one had been home. Daniel and Samantha Simmons then accompanied Barriner to Tallapoosa in the Ford Taurus, where Barriner passed by the Sisk house three times. During the drive, Barriner said that “the girl was going to pay him some money” and pointed to a note that he had left on the Sisks’ door. Samantha Simmons noticed that during the drive Barriner held and played with a purple Crown Royal bag that contained something that she could not see.

On December 16, at approximately 8:45 a.m., Candy telephoned her aunt, Debbie Dubois, and reported that a man had been to the house a short time before. Candy told Dubois that the man had told Irene that he had “a Christmas gift for Candy from her mother in jail.” Candy told Dubois that her grandmother said that the man had acted strangely, and that the same man had been in Tallapoosa the day before asking for directions to the Sisk residence. Candy reported that she had not seen the man herself, but had observed the man’s car, which was a white Ford Taurus. Dubois attempted to telephone a relative to ask him to check on Irene and Candy but was unable to reach him. Dubois then called Candy, told her she had failed to reach the relative, and instructed Candy to call her again if the man returned.

Several minutes after 9:00 that morning, a bank teller at a bank in nearby Risco attended to a man driving a white Ford Taurus. The teller saw Candy riding in the passenger seat, dressed in a nightgown and wrapped in a blanket. The teller saw another person in the rear seat. The driver gave the teller a check in the amount of one thousand dollars, signed by Candy and to be drawn on her account. After having Candy sign the required cash receipt, the teller gave the man one thousand dollars in cash, with one hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills, as the driver requested.

At approximately 10:45 that morning, Dubois attempted at least twice to telephone Candy and Irene at the Sisk residence. The telephone rang repeatedly, but no one answered. Dubois was concerned because one telephone line had an answering machine and because Candy, who had undergone back surgery four days before, was not supposed to leave the house for six weeks. Dubois drove to the Sisk house. There she found Candy and Irene dead. She tried to call the police, but, upon finding that the telephones in the house were missing, she drove to see a relative, who notified the authorities.

Candy’s body was on the bed in her bedroom. Her hands were bound in front of her with rope. She was unclothed below the waist. A pair of sweatpants and a pair of panties were on the floor nearby. Her neck had been slashed six to eight times. A knife protruded from her chest. An autopsy revealed that Candy bled to death from the neck slashes, and that the knife was thrust into her chest after she died. Several bite marks were identified on her body.

Irene’s body was on the floor of her bedroom next to the bed. She had been hog-tied, her wrists and ankles bound together with the same length of rope. An autopsy revealed that seventeen superficial stab wounds in a localized area on her left chest, five of which penetrated the chest cavity and lung, were inflicted fifteen to forty-five minutes before she died. Three deep slashes to her throat caused her death.

On December 18, two days after the bodies of Irene and Candy were discovered, Lieutenant Steven Hinesly of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Deputy Sheriff Scott Johnston of Butler County contacted Barriner at his brother’s home. Barriner agreed to accompany the officers to troop headquarters in Poplar Bluff to discuss the homicide. Barriner denied knowing that the Sisks had been murdered and denied killing them. Barriner claimed to have made trips to Cape Girardeau and two other towns on the morning of the murders to do some Christmas shopping. When Lieutenant Hinesly professed skepticism that Barriner could have traveled so far so quickly, Barriner changed his story; he then claimed that he was using methamphetamine at the home of Kevin Dennis when the murders were committed.

939 S.W.2d 361 (Mo.banc 1997)

Reversed and Remanded – Resentenced 6-17-03 – Life without Parole – SCCC #990080

The evidence at trial, State v. Storey, 901 S.W.2d 886, 891 (Mo. banc 1995), reveals the following:

Case Facts:  On January 20, 1988, Ronald Chester, a paraplegic, picked up Maria Evans in his modified Lincoln to help him run some errands. Chester’s wheelchair was in the front passenger seat, and Evans sat in back. Alter completing the errands, Chester drove to the area of Sarah and Hodiamont streets in St. Louis, where he spoke with Joseph Whitfield.

Whitfield was accompanied by a young girl whom he identified as his daughter. An unidentified woman approached Chester’s car, claimed to be the young girl’s mother, and asked Chester to take Whitfield and the girl home. When Chester agreed to do so, Whitfield and the young girl climbed into the rear seat of Chester’s car with Evans. Whitfield was seated in the left rear behind the driver’s seat, the young girl in the center rear, and Evans on the right.

At Whitfield’s request, Chester agreed to stop at a liquor store and then to take Whitfield to St. Ferdinand Street. When they arrived at St. Ferdinand Street, Whitfield exited Chester’s car quickly, leaving the young girl behind. Chester, wanting to leave but not knowing what to do with the young girl, waited for thirty to forty minutes for Whitfield to return. When he did not, Chester returned to the area of Sarah and Hodiamont to look for the woman who had claimed to be the young girl’s mother. Unable to find her, he returned to St. Ferdinand, all the while carrying Evans and the young girl in his back seat.

Upon returning to St. Ferdinand, Chester parked in the same spot where he had left Whitfield. After a few minutes, Whitfield returned to the car, asked where Chester had been, and said that he would be just a few more minutes. When Whitfield exited the car this time, Evans asked him to take the young girl, but he refused. He then walked along the street to a car parked on the opposite side from, and one or two car lengths behind, Chester’s car. Charles Porter and his girlfriend Linda Scott were in this car. At trial Scott testified that they were in the neighborhood to have Varney Bolden, a friend of Porter’s, babysit Porter’s and Scott’s children. Porter was a friend of Whitfield’s, and Scott was acquainted with Whitfield.

Whitfield tried to obtain heroin from Porter and Scott, but Porter refused to give him any because Whitfield had no money. Porter then gave Whitfield a loaded .38 caliber pistol and said something, unclear from the testimony, about “the guy in the car across the street,” namely Chester.

Whitfield left Porter’s car and returned to Chester’s car, reentering the back seat directly behind Chester. Evans was still in the rear passenger side seat, and the young girl in the center. Whitfield then struck Chester in the back of the head with the gun and struck Evans in the forehead with the gun. About the same time, Bolden walked up to Chester’s car and urged Whitfield to shoot the two adults. Whitfield complied, shooting Chester twice in the head, causing Chester to slump across the steering wheel, and in turn causing the car to roll across the street and across the opposite curb. Whitfield then Turned toward Evans, but Evans grabbed the young girl and used her as a shield. Instead of shooting, Whitfield exited the car, pulling the young girl with him. From the passenger side, he then fired back into the car, at some point hitting Evans in the hand. Evans, hurt but alive, played dead, and Whit- field, Bolden, and the young girl fled.

Officer Jerry Leyshock heard a report of the shooting on his police radio and, having been previously acquainted with Whitfield, suspected he might be involved. He went to Barnes Hospital to speak with Evans, from whom he learned that the shooter and the young girl were named “Joe” and “Jodie.” Bolstered by this information, Officer Leyshock and several other officers went to a residence on Wells Street, where they located Whitfield, Scott, and Jodie. After retrieving the gun from the residence’s bathroom, the officers arrested Whitfield.

969 S.W.2d 719 (Mo.banc 1998)

Robert Shafer’s sentence was reversed and he was re-sentenced to Life Without Parole on March 17, 2004.

The case facts below are taken from a transcript of Robert Shafer’s written confession as fit appears in the opinion by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Case Facts: “On April 29, 1990 at about 10:30 a.m. I got fired from my job. I called my friend David Steinmeyer and asked him to come over and get high with me. David and I got stoned from about 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. with my sister, Francine, and a friend. During this time David and I talked about robbing some homosexuals, and beating them up. (My sister did not have any knowledge of this.) At 1:30 p.m., David and I went behind the apartments to play baseball with some friends. We all got stoned and drank some beer. David and I talked more about robbing somebody while playing softball. At about 4:45 p.m. David left to go to work at 5:00 p.m. I stayed and played softball until about 6:30 p.m. I went home, took a shower and got stoned some more. At about 7:25 p.m. I went up to Hardee’s on North 94 to talk to David again.

I left Hardee’s at 7:45 p.m. and went back home to wait for David to get off work at 8:00 p.m. At 8:15 p.m. David came to my house, we sat and got stoned and talked more about robbing somebody. David changed from his work clothes into some of mine. I went into my sister’s bedroom, got the .22 revolver and got 5 .22 shells from the kitchen. I put the shells in my pocket and the .22 into my waistband.

At about 8:45 p.m. David and I left my house. We walked behind the Marina apartments until we got to North 94. We walked down North 94 until we got to Tecumseh Street. We walked to Tecumseh and Second Street and talked to a St. Charles County Sheriff’s Deputy. The Deputy told us to keep on going. David and I walked to North Main Street, down North Main to the North River Road. (Earlier that day David and I talked about where to look for somebody to rob and decided to look at Blanchette’s landing on North River Road.)

Once on the North River Broad we went to Blanchette’s Landing. We hid in the dark to see how many people were there. We seen 4-5 parked cars. As we approached the eastern part of the landing this is where we saw the guys, Parker and Young. David and I hid in the bathroom and tried to look at Parker and Young. We heard the loud music, saw Parker and Young hugging and drinking beer. (This is when we knew they would be ones we robbed.) David and I walked up to Parker and Young and started talking to them. (It seemed like Young was apprehensive about talking to us.) They asked us what we were doing out so late, and I told them we were going to see some girls in St. Peters. I offered Young $5.00 to drive us to St. Peters. I gave the $5.00 to Parker and he gave it to Young. We sat there and talked for about 5 minutes and drank a beer they gave us.

At about 9:30 p.m. we got into the car to go to St. Peters. I got in the car behind Parker on the passenger side and David got behind Young on the driver side. At this point I gave David the gun, but, kept the 5 .22 shells. Young drove down the North River Road until he got to North Main, he drove until he got to Tecumseh Street. At Fourth Street drove until he got to the hill leading to Fifth Street. He drove all the way down Fifth Street until he got to the on ramp for I-70 West. During the drive from the North River Road we all exchanged conversation. They asked us our names, if we got high and other general conversation. (David and I knew right away Young was gay.) Young did seem real apprehensive about the whole incident, but, hadn’t said much so far.

Once we were on I-70 West I put 3 of the .22 shells in the gun and gave it back to David to hold. (David and I talked among ourselves about what we would do and Parker asked how come we were whispering.) Once we got to the Cave Springs Exit at St. Peters Young exited. I was going to have him drop us off at the Cave Springs Sunoco, but, I thought my brother-in-law Jeff was at work there, so I didn’t. I asked Young to take us farther into St. Peters, which he agreed to. (Young said, “There isn’t anything going on, is there?”) Young drove the car down Cave Springs Road until he got to Mexico Road. At Mexico Road he turned right, going west until the got to Jungerman Road, he turned left, going south. He went down Jungerman Road until he got to a 7-11 on the right hand side and turned left on Oak Tree, going east. He followed Oak Tree until I told him to turn on Peach Street. Parker then said his nephew lived on Peach, so I told Young it was the wrong street. Young drove down Oak Tree until it turned into Cherry Tree. He drove down Cherry Tree until he came to Timberidge. He drove down Timberidge until he got to New Muegge Road. He drove down New Muegge Road until he came to the Hackman and Country Club Road intersection. At Country Club Road, he took a left and went until he came to Berlekamp. At Berlekamp he went to a circular drive and I told him that was the house. The lights were off so I told him it was the right house, but, nobody was home now. (During this whole drive through St. Peters Young kept asking if anything was wrong, he seemed scared.) (David and I whispered a lot because we didn’t know where we were, or if they knew we would rob them.) At this house Young sensed something was wrong and told us to get out and find another ride from there. I asked Young to take us back to I-70 where we would get out and find a ride. At this point Young drove back pretty much the same way we had came as far as I can remember. On the trip back to I-70 we all talked about partying some time at Parker’s house in St. Charles, and David and I decided to take the car when we stopped next time. Back at Cave Springs and I-70 Young got on the south service road, going east. I told him we could be dropped off at another friend’s house on the service road. He drove until he got to Spring Road. At Spring Road Young turned right, going south. Spring Road dead ends and at the dead end Young pulled into a driveway on the right side. I told Young to turn off the headlights and the motor, because my “friend” could be asleep. (I got the gun from David now.) As Parker got out he opened the seat for me to get out. On my way out I punched Parker in the face and stomach and pushed him into a hole. He tried to get up and I kicked him again. David was fighting with Young on the other side of the car, but, Young was on top of David. I dragged Parker over to Young, pointed the gun at Young’s head and told him to stop fighting. I gave the gun to David an told him to shoot if they tried to get away. I got in the driver’s seat, Young behind me, David in the passenger seat and Parker behind him. I told them all we would do is rob them and leave them somewhere unless they tried to get away. (David kept them at gun point while I drove.) I drove back to the south service road and turned left, going west. I took the service road all the way to Mid Rivers Drive. At Mid Rivers Drive I crossed the over-pass to the north service road. I drove down the north service road past the Quick Trip on the right, through old town St. Peters. At the stop sign Young tried to reach for the door handle. Instead of stopping I drove through the stop sign. (From Cave Springs to Mid Rivers Drive Young tried once to choke me from behind.) At the railroad tracks next to the Lone Wolf Park I turned onto Salt River Road. I drove down Salt River Road until I got to Silvers Road on the right side, this is where I planned on robbing Young and Parker because it was dark and away from people. I drove down Silvers Road for a ways and stopped. I turned off the car and headlights next. (Along the way from Cave Springs to Mid Rivers David asked if we would kill or shoot the guys, I said no until Young tried to choke me and get away.)

After I stopped the car I opened the door to let Young out on the passenger side. David and Parker started to fight and Parker ended up in the ditch. As Young got out he punched me in the face, I fought with him until he also ended up in the ditch. David came up to me after Young was in the ditch and we talked for a few seconds. I seen Parker trying to run away so I chased him. As I caught up to him he fell into the ditch again. I was not too far away when I fired 2 shots from the .22 revolver. I know at least one (1) shot hit Parker in the face because I had some blood on my hand. (Right after I shot Parker I ran over to where Young was laying in the ditch. Young begged me not to shoot him, he said he didn’t remember what I looked like, he wouldn’t go to the police. I fired one (1) shot at Young, hitting him in the back I think because he was trying to run away into the field. I took the last 2 shells out of my pocket, put them in the gun and fired one (1) shot. I then walked closer to Young and fired another one (1) shot into his head. Young did not move, but, made noises. (David was back at the car.) I walked over to David and he asked how come I shot them, I told him because they tried to get away.

David and I got back into the car, me driving and we to the 90 degree turn in road and turned around. As we came parallel to Young I stopped the car, walked over to Young and got into his pockets. I don’t recall for sure what exactly was taken, but, I know that a silver Zippo lighter was. At this point Young was alive, but, unconscious and bleeding bad. I drove the car down to Parker and stopped again. David stayed in the car while I left to empty Parker’s pockets. I took some money, close to $100.00 and his Camel cigarettes. Parker was not breathing at all, I assume he was dead.

I got back into the car and drove down Silvers Road until I got to Salt River Road. I took Salt River Road back to Highway C and through old town St. Peters. I got onto the south service road, going east and drove down that all the way to First Capitol Drive and took First Capitol to Fifth Street back into North St. Charles. Once back in North St. Charles David and I talked about where to leave the car. (It was about 10:30 p.m. when we got back to St. Charles.) I drove around North St. Charles, Boschertown looking for a place to leave the car until about 11:00 p.m. I drove to North Main Street to Bales Memorial Park.

Once at Bales Memorial Park I stopped the car. I started to take out the car stereo, the speakers, cassette tapes and other things. David and I threw out trash, ashtray, cigarette lighter that might have our fingerprints on it. I also took off the vinyl steering wheel cover to alleviate fingerprints.

After we took all this stuff I dumped it in the park area. At about 11:15 p.m. we got to the Town and Country IGA on North 94 where I had decided to leave Young’s car. We took the car stereo, speakers, cassette tapes and .22 gun with us. Before I closed the door I kicked the gear shifter to try and remove the plastic casing that had my fingerprints on it. David and I walked through the small field behind Steamboat Lane Apartments where I dropped the plastic from the gear shifter and the vinyl steering wheel cover. David and I walked in the dark behind all of the Marina Apartments until we got to my apartment. I put the stereo, speakers, gun and cassettes under my bedroom window. David and I walked to the front of my apartment and went in, it was 11:19 p.m. My sister Francine, her husband and son were watching VCR tapes. My sister asked how come our shoes were all wet, and what was wrong.

David and I went to my bedroom and took the stereo, speakers, cassettes and gun in through the window. David changed out of my clothes into his work uniform, and I put the clothes in the closet. David and I want onto the porch to talk. I told him not to say anything until we figured out what to do tomorrow. At 11:25 p.m. David went home.

From 11:25 p.m. until about 1:30 a.m., April 30, 1990, I sat and watched t.v. with my sister and her husband. At 1:30 a.m. I went into my bedroom and locked the door. Until about 3:00 a.m. I got stoned and drunk. At 3:00 a.m. I crawled out the window, and took the stereo, speakers and some of the cassette tapes to my sister’s old storage across the street at 755 Marina Drive. I went back home, in through the window. I went into my sister’s room and put the .22 revolver back into the closet so my sister would never know it was gone. The (5) empty shell casings I put in my closet. I had to have my brother-in-law, Jeff, unlock my bedroom door from the outside because I got locked in at about 4:00 a.m. I stayed in the bedroom until about 7:30 a.m., April 30, 1990.

At about 7:30 a.m. I had to babysit my nephew Jacob. I didn’t do much until 12:00 p.m. when I went to the Town and Country IGA to get a few things and had to walk by Young’s car. I noticed it had been moved a few feet from where I left it, but, I kept going. At 3:00 p.m. David got out of school and I went to his house. We talked about the shooting, and he said he talked to somebody at school about it. I got the car keys from David and threw them out behind my apartment, in the woods. (At this point I didn’t know that the bodies had been found.) At about 4:00 p.m. David had to go work for about one (1) hour or so and I went home. At about 5:00 p.m. David called and I told him to watch the news to see if they found the bodies. At 5:05 p.m. or so he called to say the police had found the car at the IGA. I went to David’s house and watched the police photograph Young’s car. I left David’s house, went home, called my mother in Salina, Kansas. I told her I might have shot 2 people, but, not to say anything until I called her back later on.

At about 5:30 p.m. I went to Hardee’s and told my sister I needed the car to go to confession, I was crying and my sister asked why. I told her that I couldn’t tell her yet. David and I went to confession, to my girlfriend Kelly’s and a couple of other places to tell people we were leaving town. At about 7:00 p.m. I went to my brother Michael’s house and told him I had to leave town because I was in trouble. He asked me what and I told him I shot (2) people last night. I kissed my (2) nieces and brother goodbye and went home. (David talked to my brother alone. I don’t know what he said though.)

I packed some clothes, called David and told him to get ready to leave town. We planned on going to Corpus Christi, Texas, to see my son and then turn ourselves in. At David’s house we talked to his mother, Nancy before we left. As we tried to leave my brother, Michael, tried to stop us, I kept on going. As we went down North 94 we passed (2) or (3) police cars. At about 9:00 p.m. David and I were on I-70 West leaving town. I stopped at O’Fallon to get gas. David and I both called our mothers. Our mothers encouraged us to turn ourselves in to police right away. David and I decided to turn ourselves in at St. Charles.

During the ride on I-70 East David and I talked about what to say to police when we were arrested. I made David agree to let me write a statement saying I shot Young and he shot Parker. (This was not the truth, but, David agreed, reluctantly.)

At 9:30 p.m. David and I stopped at the Cave Springs Sunoco to make a few phone calls. I called my sister and told her I would turn myself in at 10:15 p.m. at the St. Charles Police Department, and to be there to ensure my safety.

I drove around St. Charles, went to my girlfriend Kelly’s house, but, she was gone. I called my brother-in-law, Jeff, and told him to get rid of the .22 revolver, he asked why, and he wouldn’t. At 10:10 p.m. I drove to West Clay Street and parked in Sun Valley Lake Apartments. David and I walked across the street to the Police Department and were arrested at 10:14 p.m. by sheriff’s detectives.

David and I were taken to the sheriff’s department for questioning next. I then gave Lt. Simcox and Det. Ifland a ( ) page statement to the murders. (During the kidnapping of Young and Parker on Spring Road, Young apparently lost his eyeglasses. The .22 revolver was taken into evidence by Sgt. Roach, but, later released back to my brother-in-law, Jeff. It could be in the hands of Tracy Baltazor in Salina, Kansas. My sister gave it to him after my arrest, saying she didn’t want it anymore.

The car stereo, speakers and cassettes were still in the storage until a few after my arrest. I later found out that either Chauncey or Gary Regot might have them. Some of the cassettes are now in evidence. They were in my sister’s car at the time of my arrest. The tape case might have Young’s name on it.

I don’t remember for sure, but, one (1) of the shell casings could be in the evidence that police seized from my sister’s car at Sun Valley Lake Apartments. The keys from Young’s car are behind my apartment at 868 Marina Drive, or should be.”