Coroner's jury says son who killed father was justified

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- A coroner's jury ruled Monday afternoon a son acted in defense of his mother when he fatally shot his father after a domestic dispute at their home near Eastwood, Missouri, in February.

The four-man, two-woman jury heard more than an hour of testimony from six witnesses before beginning its deliberations about 2:25 p.m. The jury returned fewer than 15 minutes later, and its foreman reported to Carter County Coroner Erik McSpadden: "We believe (Marcus Cornman) was justified."

The jury found the 24-year-old was justified in his use of force to protect his mother, Tammy Cornman, who was being assaulted and had a gun held to her head by his father, Marcus Rutter.

The 43-year-old died Feb. 20 from a single gunshot wound to his back.

His son fired the shot from a .243-caliber rifle. Carter County deputy Curtis Robinett testified he was the first officer to arrive at the scene during the early morning hours of Feb. 20.

"When I pulled up in the yard, he was standing outside waiting on me," Robinett said. "His mother was on the porch. He said to me: 'I believe I killed my dad.'"

Marcus Cornman, Robinett said, talked about the dispute he had with his father and how his mother tried to stop it.

Rutter, according to Marcus Cornman's statement to Robinett, grabbed the .45-caliber pistol, held it to Tammy Cornman's head and said: "'-----, I'm going to kill you.'

"That's when Marcus stepped in the doorway [from his bedroom] with a .243 and shot him."

Robinett said the elder Cornman provided a similar account.

"The story I got was the same story I heard from every direction. ... They didn't waiver. It was the same story," said Robinett, who secured the scene until Sheriff Rick Stephens and Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators arrived.

During Robinett's testimony, McSpadden showed the jurors photographs from the scene.

"That's how he fell, on his back, which, so far, is consistent with the story," McSpadden said. Rutter, he said, died "quickly, within seconds."

Pertinent address:

Eastwood, Mo.