Man charged with first-degree murder in death of Hallsville man
MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man has been arrested and charged in relation to the death of a Hallsville man last month that was ruled an intentional homicide.
Chad Armstrong, 50, of Stover, was charged on Friday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail without bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday. Armstrong was booked into the jail at 3:30 p.m. Friday, jail records say.
Armstrong is accused of killing Beauford Wilson, 71, who was found dead on June 30 against a tree near Beechnut Road, south of Stover, according to a previous social media post from the department.
According to the probable cause statement, Wilson was found dead near a blue 2023 Ford F-150 and deputies found a bullet hole in the bed of the truck, as well as a shell casing. The statement claims that Wilson was likely murdered at another location and transported in his own vehicle.
The statement says gunshot wounds were seen on Wilson’s head, right calf and left arm. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a redacted name’s cellphone and phone calls were made to Armstrong, the statement says.
Court documents say that deputies spoke with neighbors of the victim as well as Armstrong, who allegedly “changed the description of his whereabouts multiple times” on June 30. He also allegedly told investigators that he lost his phone.
The probable cause statement says that the autopsy revealed that Wilson could have been killed as early as June 29. Documents also state that the Ford truck was at Armstrong’s house on June 29, which was determined from the truck’s data storage system.
Cellphone data also allegedly indicates that Wilson did not move from Armstrong’s residence for five hours on June 29, court documents say. Armstrong allegedly told law enforcement that he last saw the victim 10 days prior to July 4.
Armstrong claimed he went to work on June 29 and showed security footage to law enforcement of him leaving, but didn’t acknowledge making any phone calls during the period he left, the statement says. He also allegedly claimed that he did not see the truck.
Deputies searched Armstrong’s Chevrolet truck and found a spent shell casing in the door on July 5, the statement says. Court documents say Armstrong is a convicted felon and isn’t allowed to own guns.
Armstrong later allegedly claimed that he should have acknowledged a phone call made on June 29, the statement says.
Court documents claim the sheriff’s office obtained more video and audio footage on July 11 that was dated June 29. The footage allegedly includes the sound of gunshots - two shots at 11:55 a.m. and another shot at 12:04 p.m.
