Judge rules Joseph ineligible for public defender

A Cape Girardeau man accused of shooting his wife and son to death before turning the gun on himself will have to hire his own lawyer after a judge determined he is not eligible for a public defender.

George Joseph, 48, faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action in connection with the May 30 deaths of his wife, Mary, and 18-year-old son, Matthew.

At an arraignment hearing Monday, Judge Gary Kamp ruled Joseph is not indigent and continued the case to June 24 to give him time to hire an attorney.

Joseph is accused of shooting his wife and son in the head multiple times with a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun before turning the gun on himself.

While in a St. Louis area hospital undergoing treatment for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, Joseph admitted to Sgt. Don Perry of the Cape Girardeau Police that he killed his family and then shot himself while standing in the middle of a swimming pool at his home on West Cape Rock Drive, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed in the case.

Joseph was facing "significant financial issues that impacted not only himself, but also a large number of other individuals," Perry wrote in the affidavit.

"George Joseph told me the police did not need to look for any other perpetrator," Perry wrote. "When I advised Mr. Joseph that it appeared that he had shot his wife, Mary, and son, Matthew, in order to save them the shame of the financial ruin, Mr. Joseph responded that I was correct."

According to the affidavit, Mary and Matthew Joseph were asleep in their beds when they were shot, and investigators found no evidence of a struggle.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1220 W. Cape Rock Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.