MU students charged with tampering with evidence in a murder investigation of another MU student

Two Columbia men were charged by the Boone County Prosecutors Office on Tuesday with tampering with physical evidence in the murder investigation into the shooting death of Richard Ward, 20, over the weekend on Rolling Rock Dr.

DeAndre Winters and Darren Carter each face a felony charge in connection to Ward’s death. He is listed as passing on Sunday, October 8, in an obit on the website of the H T May & Son funeral home.

Court documents say Winters and Carter acted to purposefully impair “the investigation of the murder of R.W.”

As of the time of the publishing of this article, Columbia Police have not called the investigation a homicide, only a death investigation.

Court documents obtained by ABC 17 News state Winters “removed the victim’s body” from the scene of the crime, “and worked with another individual to remove items from the scene, including a gun.” Carter allegedly assisted in hiding the gun, according to court documents.

The charge also alleges that Winters told police that “the victim shot himself.”

Winters is currently in the Boone County Jail with a cash-only bond of $100,000.

Both Winters and Carter are students at the University.

Ward is listed on the Mizzou student directory website as being a sophomore psychology student but a university spokesperson could not confirm Ward is a current student.