Marble Hill attack leaves man dead, woman in critical condition

A Poplar Bluff, Missouri, man allegedly shot and stabbed a couple in Marble Hill, Missouri, killing the man and leaving the woman in critical condition.

William Anthony Pickard, 32, is suspected of instigating the attack.

The attack occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, according to Bollinger County Sheriff Darin Shell.

Police responded to a report of a shooting and stabbing at a residence off Highway 51 north of Marble Hill. A neighbor told police he went outside after hearing gunshots and found a man lying on the ground with a knife protruding from his torso. A woman with gunshot wounds lay near him. Police later determined they had been stabbed and shot several times.

Shell later identified the victims as Joshua Sharar, 31, and Vickie Williams, 31, both of Marble Hill. EMS personnel took them to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, where Sharar died. Williams, police said, was reported to be in critical condition.

The neighbor said the suspect fled in a Chevrolet truck, later spotted going south on Highway 51 in Puxico, Missouri.

Police pursued the suspect on Highway 51 to Route B in Butler County, where they used spike strips to flatten the tires of the vehicle. The suspect tried to continue driving south, turning onto Route AA. He stopped and fled on foot but was arrested "after a short foot pursuit in a roadside drainage ditch," Shell said.

Members of the Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad were activated to help investigate the crime scene.

Pickard has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, armed criminal action and tampering with a motor vehicle.

Pickard is being held in the Butler County Jail on $750,000 cash-only bail. His arraignment will be 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Marble Hill courthouse.

Court records show Pickard pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in 2000. In June, a warrant was issued for Pickard's arrest for failure to appear on charges of receiving stolen property filed in 2013.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

204 High St., Marble Hill, MO