MARSHALL MAN CHARGED WITH ANOTHER'S MURDER

MARSHALL -- A Marshall man stands accused of the apparent stabbing and strangulation of another man and leaving the body near a local elementary school.

Police were called to the scene late Friday, notified there was a man lying on the ground near the railroad tracks by Eastwood Elementary School.

Officers responding to the scene discovered the body in a ditch north of the school.

The victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, has been identified. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

An affidavit reported that when the victim was found he had three visible puncture wounds to the chest and marks left by strangulation on his neck. An extension cord was also found under the victim's neck at the scene. Juan Antonio Rodriguez, who does not speak English, was arraigned Sunday on charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action following a period of questioning with an interpreter present.

After accompanying officers to the Marshall Police Department, Rodriguez was questioned and issued a confession through an interpreter that he had killed the man.

During their investigation, officers noted injuries to the fingers on both hands of Rodriguez, who initially identified himself as Ismael Reyes.

Later, Rodriguez directed officers to a residence in rural Marshall, where authorities recovered a lockblade knife thought to be the murder weapon.

Police said Rodriguez told them he is a citizen of El Salvador and admitted to purchasing identification in the name of Reyes so he could stay in the United States.

The range of punishment on second-degree murder, a class A felony, is listed as 10 to 30 years or life in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The range of punishment on the armed criminal action felony is not less than three years in the Department of Corrections.

Rodriguez is being held at the Saline County Criminal Justice Center on a $100,000 cash only bond.