Woman charged in murder to return to court

Savannah Davis

NEW MADRID -- A woman charged in connection with the death of a Sikeston man will return to court Monday.

Savannah R. Davis entered a not guilty plea during her arraignment on charges of second degree murder and armed criminal action. Davis is charged in the July 11 death of John Sharber.

According to Missouri Case.net, Davis entered her plea Thursday before New Madrid County Associate Judge Joshua Underwood during her arraignment. She is scheduled back in court at 9 a.m. Monday.

In the probable cause statement from the office of New Madrid County Circuit Court Clerk Marsha Meatte Holiman, Chris L. Rataj, an officer with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, stated Sharber was found unconscious with a head injury in the parking lot at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, shortly after midnight on July 11.

"Doctors at Saint Francis (Medical Center) examined Mr. Sharber and discovered he (had) blunt force trauma to his head, including a cracked skull and other internal injuries," according to Rataj. "Due to the severity of Mr. Sharber's injuries, he was transported to Barnes hospital in St. Louis for treatment."

During their investigation, officers contacted Sharber's wife, who stated her husband was having problems with this woman, who drove a maroon-colored car and was upset with him over work he had done for her or with an appliance he sold.

Officers located Sharber's truck on the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Sikeston. From the store's video they determined that at about 9:01 p.m. July 10, a maroon-colored car pulled up beside his truck and Sharber got out to talk to a person in the car.

"A few minutes later Mr. Sharber started to walk off and the maroon car runs over Mr. Sharber," Rataj wrote in his statement. "It appeared Mr. Sharber went under the front of the car and then the car backed up off him."

For the complete story, see the weekend edition of the Standard Democrat.