803 S.W. 2d 1 (Mo. app. 1991)

Ralph Cecil Feltrop was executed on August 6, 1997

Case Facts:  On March 8, 1987 Ralph Feltrop and his live-in girlfriend Barbara Roam were involved in a domestic dispute. In a statement made to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on March 23, 1987 Feltop stated that Ms. Roam had attempted to stab him on several occasions that evening and Ms. Roam died from a knife wound to the neck. An autopsy revealed that Ms. Roam died from an incised wound to the right side of her neck which severed her vertebral artery, causing her to bleed to death. The wound was made by one forceful thrust with a sharp instrument that not only severed the vertebral artery but also penetrated the cervical spine causing paralysis of Ms. Roam’s right side. Due to the severity of the wound it was determined that Ms. Roam bled to death over a period of time from between fifteen minutes to four hours.

Following her death Feltrop mutilated Ms. Roam’s body until he severed her head, hands and lower legs from her torso. He also severed one foot from the leg. Feltrop told law enforcement officers that he later dismembered the body to better hide the remains.

Feltrop put the torso into a trunk and dumped the trunk near Duke Road in St. Charles County. He then took the remaining body parts and put them into garbage bags and dumped the bags into a pond in Jefferson County. On March 16, 1987 a passerby found the trunk in St. Charles County and reported it to police.

On March 23, 1987 Feltrop reported the disappearance of Ms. Roam to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office. Following an investigation by the St. Charles and Jefferson County law enforcement Feltop was arrested on March 24, 1987 and charged with Murder First Degree.

Legal Chronology

1987
3/16 – Barbara Ann Roam’s dismembered torso was found in St. Charles County.
4/30 – Ralph C. Feltrop was charged by information in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County with first degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of Barbara Roam, Feltrop’s live-in girlfriend.

1988
6/20-29 – Feltrop was tried in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County and found guilty of first-degree murder. The jury recommended a sentence of death.
8/3 – A motion for new trial was denied and Feltop was sentenced to death for killing Barbara Ann Roam.
8/10 – A notice of appeal was filed.
11/17 – A pro se motion for post-conviction relief under Rule 29.1 5 was filed.

1989
3/30 – Post-conviction counsel was appointed.
5/12 – An amended motion for post-conviction relief was filed.
10/25 – A post-conviction evidentiary hearing was held in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County.
12/4 – The Court denied the motion for post-conviction relief.

1990
1/10 – A notice of appeal was filed.

1991
1/9 – On consolidated appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Feltop’s conviction and sentence and the denial of post-conviction relief.
6/28 – The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari
7/28 – Feltrop filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District court for the eastern District of Missouri.

1993
3/11 – The petition for writ of habeas corpus was denied.
3/25 – Feltrop filed a motion to alter or amend the district court’s March 11, 1993 order denying the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
5/25 – The motion to alter or amend the judgment was denied.
6/23 – A notice of appeal was filed.

1995
1/25 – The United States Court of appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
3/28 – Rehearing was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
12/4 – The United States Supreme Court granted Feltrop’s petition for writ of certiorari and remanded the case to the Eighth Circuit

1996
8/8 – The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of habeas corpus relief following the remand.
10/16 – The Eighth Circuit of Appeals denied Feltrop’s petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc.

1997
5/27 – The United States Supreme Court denied Feltrop’s petition for writ of certiorari.
6/6 – The United States Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution scheduling Feltrop’s execution for August 6, 1997.