Man charged in 2015 Morgan County killing

MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Morgan County authorities charged a Stover man Tuesday in a 2015 killing.

Thomas E. Capps, 50, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the March 17, 2015, death of Ronald Salmons, the Morgan County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Salmons, 45, of Versailles, was found shot to death at a home on Dorsey Lane in Versailles.

Investigators initially believed another man, Christopher Capps, had shot Salmons, according to a probable cause statement. However, "discrepancies" in the investigation led law enforcement to interview Christopher Capps again, according to the statement.

Christopher Capps then told interrogators he heard seven shots after Thomas Capps had grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and gone outside, where Salmons was, the statement said. Christopher Capps allegedly told investigators that Thomas Capps then staged a struggle and shooting inside the house to make it appear that Christopher Capps shot Salmons in self-defense.

Christopher Capps said Thomas Capps also "instructed him on what to tell law enforcement," according to the statement.

It wasn't clear from the statement how the Capps are related.

Thomas Capps is in the Morgan County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

Check back for updates to this developing story.