A Hillsboro-area woman has been charged in the Aug. 17 shooting death of her boyfriend, gun shop owner Stephen Pettit, authorities reported this afternoon (Aug. 22).
Laurel Leah Leeker, 48, has been charged with first-degree murder, a class A felony, and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony.
Pettit, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene, at a house he was renting in the 10000 block of Vail Drive in rural Hillsboro that he shared with Leeker, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak reported Aug. 18.
Pettit owned Blackwood Firearms, 2545 Hwy. 67, in the Festus area, Marshak said.
“The original call (at 7:11 a.m.) came as a burglary in progress,” he said. “As deputies were in route, more information came to dispatch that shots had been fired and a person was bleeding.”
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, deputies arrived to find the victim in his bedroom “nude, unarmed and lying in a manner to suggest he was asleep at the time of the incident.”
The investigation revealed the victim was shot numerous times from behind in the head and upper body, the report said.
Leeker told investigators someone secretly entered the house and shot the victim while she was in the bathroom. “However, the investigation yielded no evidence consistent with the statement,” according to the report.
The statement says two juveniles in the home said they did not see anyone other than Leeker leave the bedroom where the murder occurred.
“According to victim statements and based on available technological resources, it is determined Leeker remained in the master bedroom for approximately (five to seven minutes) before emerging, calling for the other residents and requesting they call 911 for assistance,” the report said.
Cpl. Matthew Moore of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Leeker was arrested today, and then the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed the charges against her. She is being held at the Jefferson County Jail on a $150,000 cash-only bond.
If convicted, Leeker faces 10 to 30 years or life in prison on the first-degree murder charge. The maximum penalty for armed criminal action is a minimum of three years in prison.