Police: Suspect told victim he'd 'have her head' if she testified

A Jackson man told his mother on a Cape Girardeau County Jail phone if the victim in his case testified, he would “have her head,” deputies said.

The Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney’s office charged Will Justin Shoemaker, 37, of Jackson, and Carolyn Sue Shoemaker, 64, of Advance, Missouri, with attempted victim tampering, a felony.

Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputies arrested Will Shoemaker on July 30 on a charge of second-degree domestic assault. The prosecuting attorney’s office filed a warrant for Carolyn Shoemaker on Monday. They each face $15,000 cash-only bonds on the tampering charge. Will Shoemaker’s bond in the domestic assault case was set at $7,500 cash or surety.

Assistant prosecuting attorney Frank Miller reviewed inmate phone calls after the victim in Will Shoemaker’s domestic-assault case decided not to testify against Shoemaker, according to a probable-cause statement filed by Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s detective Jaime Holloway.

At Miller’s request, Holloway monitored all calls to a telephone number and found Will and Carolyn Shoemaker told the victim to not show up to court proceedings, Holloway wrote. Will Shoemaker repeated the phrase, “If there’s no victim, there’s no case” several times over the course of phone calls starting Aug. 1, according to the statement.

Carolyn Shoemaker then made arrangements for the victim to be in the same room when Will Shoemaker called Aug. 3 because he was ordered to not have any contact with the victim, Holloway wrote.

The victim would use the alias Billie, according to the statement. Will Shoemaker made the comment about having the victim’s head Aug. 2, using several expletives, Holloway wrote.

On Aug. 3, Will Shoemaker talked to “Billie” and told her the case would be dropped if she did not show up to testify, according to the statement. The victim responded she would not testify by using her privileges and promised to write him using the name “Becca Ramose,” Holloway wrote.

Will Shoemaker talked to his mother Aug. 5 and 7, repeating the victim should not show up to court, and if she was subpoenaed, she would not testify against him, according to the statement.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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