Murder suspect once tried in Cape Girardeau County

A Cedar Hill, Mo., man convicted of murder in 1980 in Cape Girardeau County is once again in custody as a murder suspect, this time in Hannibal, Mo.

Kenneth Edward Tate Jr., 40, was arraigned Thursday in Ralls County. He was arrested Wednesday in connection with the shooting of Kalaf A. "Cliff" Abdel-Jawad. Jawad died July 6 after being shot three times in the head at close range at the Hannibal Inn where he was the general manager.

An autopsy report revealed that Jawad was shot from less than five inches away. Police recovered two .38-caliber bullets during the autopsy which was conducted in Columbia, Mo. The autopsy also revealed Jawad had injuries to his hands indicating he raised them in self-defense.

Tate was convicted in 1980 in Cape Girardeau County; he was 16 and tried as an adult on a change of venue in connection with the beating death of a 13-year-old Cedar Hill girl. He served 20 years of a 25-year sentence and was released in March 2002 on five years supervised parole. Since his release he had lived in New London, Mo., near Hannibal.

According to the Quincy Herald-Whig newspaper near Hannibal, police picked Tate up as a suspect in several hit and run accidents, and eventually linked him to Jawad's murder. Officers there declined to comment on how Tate became a suspect, citing an ongoing investigation.

He is considered a flight risk and is being held without bond.