DEXTER -- A Dexter man is in jail for the murder of his son Saturday.
The Dexter Police Department reports at 4:44 p.m. New Year's Day, officers responded to shots fired at 109 Condor Drive. Upon EMS and police arrival, 36-year-old John Wilkison of Dexter was found shot outside the residence. He was transported to Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, where he later died as a result of his injuries.
According to Dexter Police Chief Paul Haubold, Wilkison's father, Edward Dale Wilkison, 59, admitted to shooting his son once in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun. There were also several eyewitnesses to the shooting.
"According to the statement made by the father, it's been an ongoing family-type argument over the treatment of his son's children," Haubold said about events leading up to the incident.
"They all got to partying over at another friend's home on New Year's Eve, and then on New Year's afternoon they got into an altercation around 2 p.m., in a shoving-type match. Afterward, the father loaded his gun and waited for his son to come home."
Following the shooting, police found Edward Wilkison walking toward the police station, Haubold noted. Wilkison was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, and is being held in the Stoddard County Jail.
Bond is set at $750,000 cash, and arraignment is expected later this week.