Cape men charged in Lape murder, kidnapping

JACKSON, Mo. -- Two Cape Girardeau men have been charged in the kidnapping and murder of Ralph L. Lape Jr., who investigators say was forced from his rural Jackson home, shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave near Portageville, Mo.

Mark A. Gill, 31, of 2601 Janet Drive, and Justin M. Brown, 22, of 507 Cape Meadows Apt. 6, each were charged Friday with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Additionally, Gill faces charges of first-degree robbery, two counts of fraudulent use of a debit device, armed criminal action and tampering with a motor vehicle.

Gill is listed as a prior offender because of a previous forgery conviction.

Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp set bond for Gill at $5 million and Brown at $2 million. The men were being held Friday night at the Cape Girardeau County Jail.

'Crime of greed'

"This was a crime of greed," Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said. "It was about money."

According to arrest warrants, the men entered Lape's home July 8, forced him out of the home and into his truck. Sometime later, one of them allegedly shot Lape -- a retired railroad conductor -- in the head before his body was buried near a cornfield in Portageville and his truck was left in a hospital parking lot in Paducah, Ky.

"Apparently, they went to extremes to try and separate the truck and body," said Lt. David James, who heads the Cape Girardeau County Major Case Squad, which was activated Tuesday to search for Lape after he had been reported missing.

James said they are still trying to determine which of the men shot Lape.

Gill is alleged by police to have taken Lape's wallet, some cash and used his ATM card to withdraw more cash in places all across the country, leading authorities on a chase from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis to Las Vegas and ultimately to New Mexico where he was arrested.

Brown was picked up later at his home in Cape Girardeau.

Familiar victim

Police said that the men both knew Lape, 54, who was the divorced father of an 18-year-old daughter, Megan. Lape had last been seen the weekend of July 4, which he spent with his family, James said.

The major case squad tracked the use of Lape's ATM card while following up on nearly 100 leads, James said. When they began looking to interview Gill, he wasn't around.

Investigators were interviewing family, friends and acquaintances, and since they couldn't find Gill, they began to search for him, James said.

When Gill was singled out as a suspect, he finally was arrested in Santa Rosa, N.M., by the New Mexico State Police. Brown was identified as a suspect later, James said.

When they saw that Lape's ATM card had been used in New Mexico, they sent a teletype giving Gill's description. Police there spotted him in a car going east on Interstate 40. He was in the car with a woman who police say was not involved with the murder.

Major case squad officers traveled to New Mexico in a Missouri State Highway Patrol plane and brought back Gill, who had waived extradition based on his earlier conviction of fraudulent use of credit device. He was brought back to Missouri earlier this week.

The case came to a head Thursday night as police recovered Lape's truck at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky. They also found his body in a shallow grave near a corn field near Portageville in New Madrid County. Police would only say their investigation led them to the grave.

An autopsy was performed Friday by New Madrid County Coroner Tim Clayton. He confirmed that Lape's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. He declined to say if more than one shot was fired. He said Lape had probably been dead about a week when the body was found.

Clayton said he could not tell if Lape had been beaten but said the body did not appear to have been bound.

The major case squad normally is activated when a body is found immediately in an apparent murder, but James and Jordan both said that in this case, it was clear that foul play was a factor in Lape's disappearance.

"This guy just vanished," Jordan said. "This is his home; he's expecting to sell it soon and get some money. We based it a lot on family, their demeanor and their reactions. We knew pretty early on it was a problem."

James said that the major case squad was to be deactivated Friday, but officers would still be investigating the motive for the crime.

Lape was a retired railroad conductor with the Burlington Northern Railway Co. in Chaffee. He served in the U.S. Air Force. Lape was a member of the Southeast Missouri Pool League as well as a referee at the National Pool League in Las Vegas. He loved fishing, boating and traveling.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137