Rolla, Missouri



From the Springfield News-Leader of February 8, 2004

Intruder shoots pair, is killed



A Rolla man shot and killed another man who had broken into his home and shot him and his wife, authorities said.



David W. Brown, 45, was pronounced dead at the scene Friday night. The couple, James Butler, 48, and Suzanne Butler, 44, each suffered single gunshot wounds and were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.



According to the Phelps County Sheriff's Office, Brown broke into the Butlers' home around 11 p.m. armed with a handgun, rifle, ammunition and gloves.



He shot Suzanne Butler in the arm and James Butler in the neck. James Butler then retrieved a handgun he had in the house and shot Brown several times, killing him.



James Butler said the couple had hired Brown, a neighbor, to do odd jobs around the house a few years ago. About a year ago, they noticed him peeking in windows. That escalated to threats, unwanted calls, and break-ins, Butler told the Rolla Daily News. On Christmas Eve, Butler said his wife was assaulted by Brown after she came home and found him in the house.

And here's another news account from the February 8, 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatchof the same incident (thanks to Kim Du Toit for the pointer):

James and Suzanne Butler had retired for the night Friday when a man who they say had been harassing them for a year kicked in their back door and rushed into their bedroom, armed with a rifle and a handgun.



"He was shooting with the rifle as soon as he came into the bedroom," Butler said in a telephone interview Sunday from his home outside Rolla, Mo. "My wife grabbed the barrel and she got shot, but it allowed me the time to get my gun" from a nightstand drawer.



Butler fired several shots, killing David W. Brown, 45.



"We're very, very lucky," said Butler, 48, who was grazed on the neck. "My wife saved my life by giving me the time to get my gun."



Suzanne Butler, 44, was shot through the hand and upper forearm. Both Butlers were treated and released from the hospital.



"It's certainly a bizarre case," said Sgt. Mark Williams of the Phelps County sheriff's office. "It's like something out of the movies."

Or something off this blog. [Clayton]