The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men who have been accused of murder following two separate shootings over the weekend.
Michael F. Miller, 71, of Fredericktown has been accused of killing Philip J. Dodson, 43, of Fenton in an apparent road-rage incident on Oct. 9 on Ashwood Drive off New Sugar Creek Road in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Jesse R. Evans, 67, who lives in the De Soto area, allegedly shot Katie L. Iverson, 38, of Festus on Oct. 10 outside a home on Sunrise School Road south of De Soto. Iverson was driven to a nearby business before being taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting deaths are the 10th and 11th homicides the Sheriff’s Office has investigated this year. There were a total of five homicides reported in Jefferson County last year, down from 11 homicides in 2024.
Miller has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, the Sheriff’s Office reported. As of Monday, Oct. 12, he was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, jail records show.
Evans also has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, according to the Sheriff’s Office. As of Monday, Oct. 12, he also was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail, according to jail records.
On Oct. 9, deputies were called at about 7:30 p.m. to Ashwood Road in the Fenton area. The deputy found Dodson, who appeared to be shot to death, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Miller also was in the area of Ashwood Road, and he was arrested. According to the probable-cause statement filed by the Sheriff’s Office, Miller said, “I shot him, guns in the front seat of my car.”
Miller allegedly also told investigators he shot Dodson twice. Miller said he was still in his vehicle when he shot Dodson, the probable-cause statement said.
A witness reported hearing two shots and seeing a flash, the report said.
A Sheriff’s Office detective wrote that after an autopsy on Oct. 10, the preliminary findings revealed Dodson had been shot twice and his death was ruled a homicide.
Deputies responded to the second shooting in the evening hours of Oct. 10. Iverson was driven to a home in the 3800 block of Sunrise School Road to gather some of her belongings, the man who drove Iverson there told Sheriff’s Office investigators.
The Sheriff’s Office reported Iverson and Evans shared a home together, but investigators are unaware of any other relationship.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, the man heard screaming, and Iverson was chased out of the home by Evans who was carrying a gun. The witness said Iverson turned toward Evans and pleaded for him to stop before he allegedly shot her.
The man said he helped Iverson into the vehicle they arrived in, and he drove her to a business in the 3200 block of Hwy. V, which is near the home on Sunrise School Road. When deputies arrived at the business off the highway, emergency medical personnel were treating Iverson, and she was then transported to an area hospital, the probable-cause statement said.
Iverson was pronounce dead at the hospital, the report said.
Deputies went to the home on Sunrise School Road, where they arrested Evans without incident. Evans allegedly admitted to shooting Iverson.
Homicides
Of the 11 homicides the Sheriff’s Office has investigated this year, investigators identified 10 suspects and charges were filed against nine people as of Sept. 11.
The first reported homicide in Jefferson County this year was on Feb. 14 at a home in the 2600 block of Winding Valley Drive in the Jefferson County part of Fenton, where Marijon Ludwig, 46, was found stabbed and shot to death.
Billy Moman, 69, was suspected of killing Ludwig. It appeared Moman shot himself to death, and his body was found on Feb. 15 at the Holiday Inn Express, 1802 Gamel Cemetery Road, in Festus.
The next homicide the Sheriff’s Office investigated was on July 11 when Gabbriana Boyster, 16, was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head at her home in the 7900 block of Tower Road north of Hillsboro. Investigators believe Boyster was shot on July 10.
Three juveniles were charged in connection with the shooting death. One was charged with involuntary manslaughter, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse. Two other juveniles were charged with abandonment of a corpse.
The third homicide investigation started on July 24 when Sammy Gordon Jr., 24, and his 51-year-old father were shot at a home in the 7300 block of Lakeshore Drive in Cedar Hill. Gordon died at the scene, and his father was treated and released from an area hospital.
Christopher Serrano, 41, was arrested and charged two days after the shooting. He has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault resulting in a serious physical injury and two counts armed criminal action, according to court documents.
The day after investigating the homicide in Cedar Hill, deputies were called at about 8:30 p.m. July 25 to a home on Doetzel Drive in House Springs where a Jersey Greer, 17, and her mother, 38-year-old Jessica Lashly, were both shot in the head and killed. The suspect, Robert Winkelman, 73, shot himself in the head when deputies arrived.
Winkelman was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action, after initially being charged with two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action. He died on Aug. 2.
The sixth and seventh suspected homicides occurred on Aug. 6 when Kenneth Queen, 60, and Timothy Brda Jr., 45, were shot in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton.
At about 9 p.m. that day, a resident in the 1100 block of Morris Drive called police when one of the victim’s showed up at the resident’s home. From Morris Drive, investigators followed a blood trail to a home on Saline Lane, where they found a second victim.
Queen and Brda were both transported to an area hospital, where they died. As of Monday, Oct. 12, no suspects had been identified in their shooting deaths.
Deputies were called to investigate two domestic-related homicides within in hours of each other on Sept. 10.
The Sheriff’s Office was first called at about 7:30 a.m. to a home in the 6200 block of Dulin Creek Road in House Springs, where Corey R. Bicklein, 49, allegedly shot and killed his wife, 49-year-old Sarah Bicklein.
At 9 p.m., Catherine M. Koechling, 63, allegedly shot her ex-husband, 61-year-old Eric Koechling, at a home in 2600 block of Breakwater Drive in Imperial.
Eric Koechling was found across the street from the couple’s home. He was bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound to his stomach, and he died while being treated at an area hospital, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Corey Bicklein with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, and Catherine Koechling also was charged with first-degree domestic assault resulting in serious physical injury and armed criminal action.