Moniteau County parents settle with shooter in lawsuit over son’s death
A Camden County judge approved a settlement this week in a Moniteau County wrongful death case.
Judge Michael Gilley approved the agreement Monday between Robert and Cynthia Ashbaugh and Travis Clark and Robert Davis in a wrongful death suit over Clark’s fatal shooting of the Ashbaughs’ son, also named Robert.
A jury found Clark guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March and is serving a 7-year prison sentence at Algoa Correctional Center. Clark was convicted of accidentally shooting Ashbaugh with a rifle in 2016 inside a Tipton residence.
According to the wrongful death lawsuit, Clark did not know the gun was loaded but should have known. The Ashbaughs alleged in the lawsuit that Davis, Clark’s father, should not have given Clark access to the gun given Clark’s propensity toward violence. In the lawsuit they allege Clark had been disciplined at work for threatening co-workers with gun violence.
The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court filings.
