Part of a series on domestic violence in Springfield and Greene County. Need help? See related story.
Over the past five years, there have been at least 16 homicides or murder-suicides in Springfield that investigators say were domestic assaults. In a few cases, the defendants and victims were domestic partners, meaning they lived together, but it was unclear if they were “intimate partners.” All but one of the murders were committed by men and the one assault by a woman was ruled self-defense.
Here is a recent history of Springfield domestic violence cases where the victim was killed:
Dec. 3, 2022, 700 block of West Whiteside
Lavare Everett, 44, shot and killed his girlfriend, Christina Lopez, 45, before turning the gun on himself. Three months prior, Everett had pleaded guilty to domestic assault and was sentenced to seven years in prison — but he was given a suspended execution of sentence, meaning he would not go to prison if he followed rules of his probation. Those rules included no contact with Lopez and not to possess a weapon.
June 22, 2022, 1600 block of East Adams
Lydell Jackson, 59, strangled and killed his girlfriend, Cheryl Lamar, 57, and then killed himself after a five-hour standoff with police. He had been convicted of domestic assault in Sikeston in 2008.
May 28, 2022, 2600 block of Glenview Avenue
Jacob Hodgkins, 32, is accused of shooting and killing wife, Ada, 42. He was convicted of domestic assault in 2017 and was given a suspended execution of sentence and did not go to jail. He was ordered to attend a class for men who batter women. He faces a murder charge.
Jan. 31, 2022, Springfield National Cemetery
Two men were found dead at the Springfield National Cemetery on East Seminole Street in a murder-suicide. Mark Young, 38, and Justin Baker, 46, were dead from gunshot wounds. They lived together. It’s unclear who shot whom first and police say the investigation is closed.
Dec. 6, 2021, 2000 block of North Marion
Lilburn Motley, 66, is accused of shooting his girlfriend, Lavona Haddock, to death. Motley told officers Haddock was his girlfriend for 37 years and that he shot her to “shut her up” because she was “running her mouth” and wouldn’t let him watch what he wanted on TV. He faces a murder charge.
Aug. 28, 2021, 200 block of West Atlantic
Brandon Wilson, 34, beat and stabbed his grandmother to death. He had violated probation in a prior domestic assault case but was allowed to remain out of jail. A court order required that he stay away from his grandmother, Judy Bishop, and her home on Atlantic Street. Wilson had been found guilty of domestic assault against Bishop four prior times. He is charged with murder.
Dec. 31, 2020, 2000 block of West Scott
Brandon King, 29, is accused of stabbing and killing his girlfriend, Stephanie Plumb, 32, and her son, Dylan Moore, 13. He also faces charges for stabbing two of Plumb’s other children, who survived. He was convicted of domestic assault earlier in 2020 but received a suspended execution of sentence, meaning he did not go to jail. He now faces two murder charges.
Nov. 23, 2020, 1700 block of North Drury
Police were called to a home at 1:30 a.m. for a report of a man strangling a woman. They found Nicholas C. Jackson, 35, stabbed to death. The woman was not arrested. Investigators concluded she killed Jackson in self defense.
June 16, 2020, 1500 block of North Golden
Andre McKinnon, 27, shot and killed his wife, Krista McKinnon, 23, in their home and then turned the gun on himself. The two met at church camp and Krista was active in her church. Krista had filed for divorce in April 2020.
March 2, 2020, 3600 block of South Fort
John Schuck, 57, beat to death his girlfriend, Tammy Colbert, 54. Officers were called to their home at least eight times in the months prior to Colbert’s death. He faces a charge of voluntary manslaughter.
May 18, 2019, 600 block of West Walnut
Matthew T. Stephens, 53, shot his roommate, Jacqueline L. Steinert, 52, inside her home, and then killed himself. Detectives said they were close friends and roommates.
Feb. 21, 2019, 2000 block of North Johnston
Keeton Waring, 31, shot his male roommate, Jamie Carroll, 45, in the face with a shotgun. A jury found him guilty of murder in 2021; he was sentenced to life in prison. The night of the homicide, Waring could not find his cell phone and became angry. He pointed the weapon at another man’s face. Carroll stepped in front of the barrel, grabbed it and the gun went off.
Jan. 15, 2019, 900 block of West Locust
Chase Collins, 22, shot and killed his girlfriend, Cheyenne L. Dancause, 20. Two infants were also in the bedroom when police found Dancause. One was Dancause’s daughter. The other was a child Dancause was watching. Collins pleaded guilty in February 2020 to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Nov. 1-3, 2018, 900 block of East Locust and 2100 block of North Oakland
Police say 23-year-old Luis Perez killed three people and injured others in a shooting at a home on Locust just after midnight Nov. 1. Two of those killed were former roommates — Steven Marler and Aaron “Joshua” Hampton — who had told him to leave the home they shared with him. The next day, Perez killed 21-year-old Sabrina Starr, who provided him with the gun he used to kill the other two. Perez was sentenced to consecutive life terms in January 2023.
Aug. 25, 2018, 2600 block of South Fremont
Bob Houston, 40, shot and killed Slyonandra Patterson, 32, his wife of just one month. Houston was convicted of domestic assault in 2014 and sent to prison. In May of 2022, Houston pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Oct. 31, 2018, 1900 block of West Elm
Melvin Parrow fatally shot his wife, Torie Parrow, before taking his own life. Torie had stopped at her house to pick up her son’s Halloween costume. She left the boy in the car and went in. Melvin was out on bond after assaulting her. He had removed his ankle monitor and was waiting for her. Previously, in 2015, he was convicted of domestic assault in the third degree and sentenced to 180 days in the Greene County Jail.
— Information for this timeline was collected from the Springfield Police Department, online court documents, incident reports and news stories from other media outlets.