Springfield man arrested for Golden man’s murder
Beatty
June 10, 2015
Charlea Mills
A Springfield man is in custody for allegedly murdering a man at his Golden home yesterday.
Michael Beatty, of Springfield, was arrested yesterday afternoon and booked into the Barry County Jail for the murder of Ed Smith, 68, of Golden.
According to Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly,, the Sheriff’s Department was dispatched at 11:18 a.m. yesterday with the report that there was a “deceased person in a trailer with possible suspicious activity.”
When officers arrived, Epperly said that there was a lot of blood at the scene and that Smith had multiple gun shot wounds to the head and possibly the chest.
Epperly confirmed that Deputies Angie Cole and Bill Watkins secured the scene while officers set up a roadblock near the Golden Post Office and stopped each vehicle looking for the murder suspect
Officers were on the lookout for a white Chrysler 2000. Epperly said that, while officers were working the road block and securing the scene, he went to the Mayo Beach area where he found the car wrecked into a tree.
Epperly said, “We had a person call in and say that the car had wrecked and that the driver had fled on foot and was hiding in the woods near their house. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and Barry County took him into custody at 12:44 p.m. without incident.”
Epperly continued, “We got a search warrant for the trailer. The suspect was apparently living there with Smith. He did get into it with someone because the suspect had strangulation-like marks with bruising around his neck.”
Officers also found a .22 caliber rifle at the trailer, but Epperly said, “The rifle was laying there in the yard, but consistency with that doesn’t appear that it was the weapon used.” Epperly said that they are obtaining a search warrant for the car and will continue to look for the murder weapon.
To add to the oddity of the crime, Smith was stripped of his clothing and it was piled on his bed in the trailer and soaked in gasoline. Epperly said, “There was a gas can in the bedroom, and the bed was saturated. They tried to set a fire, but it went out. We think it was to make it look like a house fire.”
When officers found Beatty in the woods, he was inebriated, according to Epperly. He said, “Detective Henry read him his Miranda Rights, but we will be interviewing him today now that he has sobered up and see if he will tell us what happened.”
Epperly added, “It went well taking him into custody. He planned to get out of there and had a bag with him. We were lucky that the didn’t head toward Arkansas or we might still be looking for him.”
The investigation is still ongoing, and no formal charges have been filed. Beatty is being held in the Barry County Jail on a 24-hour hold for murder. Smith’s autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday morning, at 8:30 a.m.
Charlea Mills
A Springfield man is in custody for allegedly murdering a man at his Golden home yesterday.
Michael Beatty, of Springfield, was arrested yesterday afternoon and booked into the Barry County Jail for the murder of Ed Smith, 68, of Golden.
According to Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly,, the Sheriff’s Department was dispatched at 11:18 a.m. yesterday with the report that there was a “deceased person in a trailer with possible suspicious activity.”
When officers arrived, Epperly said that there was a lot of blood at the scene and that Smith had multiple gun shot wounds to the head and possibly the chest.
Epperly confirmed that Deputies Angie Cole and Bill Watkins secured the scene while officers set up a roadblock near the Golden Post Office and stopped each vehicle looking for the murder suspect
Officers were on the lookout for a white Chrysler 2000. Epperly said that, while officers were working the road block and securing the scene, he went to the Mayo Beach area where he found the car wrecked into a tree.
Epperly said, “We had a person call in and say that the car had wrecked and that the driver had fled on foot and was hiding in the woods near their house. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and Barry County took him into custody at 12:44 p.m. without incident.”
Epperly continued, “We got a search warrant for the trailer. The suspect was apparently living there with Smith. He did get into it with someone because the suspect had strangulation-like marks with bruising around his neck.”
Officers also found a .22 caliber rifle at the trailer, but Epperly said, “The rifle was laying there in the yard, but consistency with that doesn’t appear that it was the weapon used.” Epperly said that they are obtaining a search warrant for the car and will continue to look for the murder weapon.
To add to the oddity of the crime, Smith was stripped of his clothing and it was piled on his bed in the trailer and soaked in gasoline. Epperly said, “There was a gas can in the bedroom, and the bed was saturated. They tried to set a fire, but it went out. We think it was to make it look like a house fire.”
When officers found Beatty in the woods, he was inebriated, according to Epperly. He said, “Detective Henry read him his Miranda Rights, but we will be interviewing him today now that he has sobered up and see if he will tell us what happened.”
Epperly added, “It went well taking him into custody. He planned to get out of there and had a bag with him. We were lucky that the didn’t head toward Arkansas or we might still be looking for him.”
The investigation is still ongoing, and no formal charges have been filed. Beatty is being held in the Barry County Jail on a 24-hour hold for murder. Smith’s autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday morning, at 8:30 a.m.