Jury convicts man of manslaughter in fatal shooting of son

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Stoddard County jury took three hours and five minutes Thursday to convict a Catron, Missouri, man of a manslaughter charge in connection with the May 2012 shooting death of his son.

The seven-woman, five-man jury on Thursday heard from the state's final four witnesses, as well as from Charles Goforth, who testified on his own behalf, before closing arguments from Stoddard County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver and Goforth's attorney, Steven Wilson.

About three hours later Thursday night, the jury found Charles Goforth, 43, "recklessly caused" the death of his 20-year-old son, Patrick Goforth, by shooting him.

Presiding Circuit Judge Robert Mayer set sentencing for 10:30 a.m. June 22. Charles Goforth was taken into custody by Stoddard County sheriff's deputies.

Dexter police detective Cory Mills testified there was a "dried red substance consistent with blood" on the man's right hand after the shooting and took a swab of the substance.

Diane Higgins, a criminalist in the DNA section of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Crime Lab in Cape Girardeau, said she developed DNA profiles for both Charles and Patrick Goforth using evidence given to her. Higgins said she also collected a swab of a red substance found on the bottom of the trigger area on a 9 mm handgun.

Higgins confirmed the swab, along with swabs of the red substances on the elder Goforth's hand and from the back door of the Goforth home, were tested.

"The profiles were consistent with the profile of Patrick Goforth," Higgins said. The odds of the profile being someone other than Patrick Goforth, Higgins said, was 1 in 11.58 quadrillion.

Emily Smelser, a criminalist in the patrol's toxicology section, said she conducted blood-alcohol and drug screenings on Charles Goforth's blood and urine. Smelser said she found a chemical compound for marijuana (THC) and Alpha-PVP in Charles Goforth's blood and urine. Alpha-PVP, Smelser said, is a synthetic compound "used for simulation," which is "found in some products referred to as bath salts."

When asked to describe the effects of the Alpha-PVP, Smelser said, it's a stimulant that increases blood pressure and could cause anxiousness, anxiety and hallucinations.

Charles Goforth testified he "smelled a smell" at the rural residence before he saw "some strange things going on. ... People were on top of the camper, climbing underneath the camper, ripping insulation out. People were out there I had not seen before."

When asked to describe the smell, he said it was "strong," like ammonia.

About two to four weeks before the shooting, Charles Goforth said, there wasn't supposed to be anyone in the house.

On the day of the shooting, Charles Goforth said as he entered the residence, he shut the door and wasn't able to turn on the lights because he was jumped by an assailant from behind.

"They pulled my head back and spun me around, and I was disoriented," he said. "Then someone tackled me at my waist and started going for my gun."

During the struggle that he described, Charles Goforth said the gun went off while his hand was being squeezed by his attacker.

"I heard a bang, and there was a flash, and the body fell to the floor," he said.

Jonathan Dawe of the Daily Statesman contributed to this story.