Stepfather faces murder charge in Gordonville woman's death

A murder charge has been filed against the stepfather of a woman slain last week near Gordonville.

Ricky L. Schweain, 54, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Melissa Luttrell, 27.

He reportedly tried to kill himself after allegedly shooting Luttrell.

The original call came in to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department about 3:45 p.m. March 26, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case. Luttrell's mother and Ricky Schweain's wife, Kimberly Schweain, said Luttrell was not breathing and did not have a pulse, leading Kimberly Schweain to believe she had a seizure, the statement said. She also said Ricky Schweain was complaining of chest pains.

Deputy Joshua Wiseman arrived at the home on Route F about 4 p.m. Upon his arrival, a dispatcher told Wiseman a man in the home had just shot himself twice in the chest, according to the statement. As Wiseman left his car, a man later identified as Justin Streiler, Kimberly Schweain's son, approached and said he needed help because someone had just shot himself, the statement said.

Cape County Private Ambulance personnel treated Luttrell in the back of an ambulance behind the residence, the statement said. Paramedics found a small-caliber bullet wound in her chest. Just after 4:20 p.m., detective Cpl. Jamie Malugen observed Luttrell to be dead in the back of the ambulance because of a single gunshot wound in the left side of her chest, Malugen said in the statement.

Upon entering the home, Wiseman found Ricky Schweain lying on a bed in a back bedroom, conscious and talking, the statement said. Ricky Schweain had a blood stain and a small hole near the center of his chest, and Streiler pointed to a .22-caliber pistol, saying that was the gun Ricky Schweain had used to shoot himself, according to the statement.

Ricky Schweain was transported by a second ambulance to a Cape Girardeau hospital for treatment.

At the scene, Kimberly Schweain told deputies she had gone outside to smoke a cigarette and came back into the house to find Luttrell lying in front of the refrigerator, according to the statement. She said Ricky Schweain and Luttrell had been the only ones in the house.

Two Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputies interviewed Ricky Schweain on Monday at the hospital, the statement said.

He told them Luttrell had been threatening for a long time to have her friends beat him up, the statement said. He said Luttrell had been living off him and Kimberly Schweain, and he was tired of being threatened.

Ricky Schweain admitted to pointing the .22-caliber pistol at Luttrell but said she had grabbed for the gun, at which point it went off, wounding her, the statement said. At the time, Ricky Schweain said, he wasn't sure where she had been hit.

After his pistol went off, Luttrell fell to the ground and told Ricky Schweain, "I will get you back," Malugen wrote.

Ricky Schweain went to his bedroom, where he shot himself twice in the chest to try to kill himself, Malguen said in the statement.

Schweain told deputies he "knew what he had done, was sorry for what he had done, but knew that he had messed up," according to the statement, and "if he had to do this all over again he wished he would have contacted the sheriff's department before doing what he did."

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department did not have any additional comment Wednesday on the investigation.

In Missouri, the penalty for second-degree murder, a class A felony, is 10 to 30 years or life in prison. The penalty for armed criminal action, an unclassified felony, carries a minimum of three years in prison, with no maximum limit, according to a news release from Cape Girardeau Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh.

No court date has been set for Ricky Schweain, who remains in the hospital. His bond has been set at $750,000 cash or surety, with the condition he not leave Missouri.

kwebster@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

State Highway F, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701