Arrest made in Dexter stabbing

Thursday, July 12, 2018

BLOOMFIELD — A warrant was issued Wednesday for the arrest of a Dexter man who authorities say fled to Colorado after he allegedly stabbed another man to death in late June.

Joshua James Koonce, 30, of the 1100 block North Sassafras Street was charged with the Class A felony of second-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action by Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver.

At the time Koonce was charged with causing the death of Jimmy Lynn Casey he was a patient in a Pueblo, Colo., hospital.

Hospital personnel confirmed this morning that Koonce, who authorities say attempted to hang himself, is a patient in the facility’s medical trauma intensive care unit.

After reviewing the complaint and probable-cause statement with the court, Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield issued a warrant for Koonce’s arrest and set his bond at $500,000 cash.

After being told of his rights and agreeing to be interviewed, “Joshua admitted to stabbing Jimmy Casey three times in the chest with a folding knife,” Dexter Police Detective E.E. Holloway said. “Joshua admitted to breaking a living room window out to make it appear as if the incident was a burglary.”

Authorities learned of Casey’s death at about 8 a.m. June 28 when the 66-year-old’s home-health care aide found him dead inside his home in the 1100 block of North Mulberry Street.

The aide, identified as Tammy Passley, went to Casey’s home for what was described by Holloway as a routine visit.

“Passley unlocked the door with her door key and entered the house to find the living room window … had been broken, and there was glass on the table directly underneath the window,” Holloway wrote in his probable-cause statement.

Passley, Holloway said, reported finding Casey in his bed with blood all over his face.

“Passley immediately left the residence and contacted a neighbor, who called EMS and law enforcement,” Holloway aid.

During an initial interview, Holloway said, Passley told officers she last saw Casey inside his home at about 2:30 p.m. June 27.

“He was talkative and complained of no pain” at that time, Holloway said.

When officers, he said, responded to the home, they found Casey laying in his bed, wearing only a T-shirt.

“According to (Sgt. Rick) Cook, it was apparent Casey was deceased,” and detectives were requested, Holloway said.

When Detective Cory Mills arrived, Holloway said, he found Casey laying in his bed with dried blood on his face, pillowcase and pillow.

“Casey’s face appeared swelled, and he was cold to the touch,” Holloway said. “It appeared Casey had been stabbed in the chest, face and the top of the head.

“There seemed to be dried blood on the ceiling directly above Casey’s head.”

Mills, Holloway said, also found a broken window in the living room.

A table, he said, was found directly beneath the window, which contained a laptop computer, internet router and land line phone.

“There was broken glass on the table and underneath the laptop computer,” Holloway said. “The window screen had been removed and was on the ground next to an air conditioner unit, which sits directly below the broken window.”

Holloway said a small amount of broken glass also was found on top of the AC unit.

An autopsy, Holloway said, was conducted June 29 on Casey’s body, and preliminary results indicated Casey had been stabbed three times in the upper chest, once in the right eye and once on the top of his head.

Through investigative leads, Holloway said, Koonce was developed as a person of interest in Casey’s death.

Holloway said officers believe Koonce was the “last person to see Casey alive and may have shared a sexual relationship with Casey.”

On July 3, Holloway said, detectives received a call from Capt. Jim Martin with the Pueblo Police Department.

Holloway said Martin reported there was a white male matching Koonce’s description at what was described as a drug and alcohol detox center located in Pueblo.

“Capt. Martin stated Joshua checked in with a fictitious name and then attempted suicide by hanging himself,” Holloway said. “(He) requested tattoo information, which could assist in further identification.”

Information, Holloway said, was gathered from the police department and Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department and forwarded to Pueblo officers.

Holloway said Pueblo officers confirmed the man was, in fact, Koonce, and he was in an intensive care unit at the hospital there.

On Tuesday, Holloway said, Mills and Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Matt Foster interviewed Koonce at the Colorado hospital regarding his alleged involvement in Casey’s death.

Koonce, according to Holloway, further admitted to going back to the Sassafras Street home he shared with his brother and another man after the alleged stabbing.

Holloway said Koonce “thought he left the knife and clothing inside the residence. Joshua stated he then flew to Colorado to avoid law enforcement.”

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