Poplar Bluff man's death sentence upheld by jury in Cape Girardeau County

A Poplar Bluff, Mo., man was returned to death row Monday afternoon after he again was sentenced to die for killing his infant daughter's grandmother.

Terrance L. Anderson was sentenced to death in accordance with the verdict, said assistant attorney general Robert Ahsens III.

A Cape Girardeau County jury had reached that verdict in November after hearing testimony from multiple witnesses for the state and defense.

The jury's death sentence was identical to what another Cape Girardeau County jury handed down in January 2001 after it convicted Anderson of first-degree murder in the July 1997 death of Debbie Rainwater. Anderson also was convicted of killing Stephen Rainwater and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of probation or parole for his death.

In July 2006, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the 32-year-old's death sentence and ordered a new penalty phase be held in his case before Presiding Circuit Judge William Syler.

Before formally sentencing Anderson, Syler considered a motion for judgment of acquittal, or in the alternative, motion for a new trial filed by Anderson's attorney, Sharon Turlington with the Capital Public Defender's Office.

"There was not a great deal of discussion about [the motion]; the court is familiar with the points they raised," Ahsens said. He said the court denied the motion for new trial and proceeded to sentencing.

Ahsens said Syler could have sentenced Anderson to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"He had that option [but] most judges follow the verdict of the jury, and Judge Syler did that," he said.

Sentencing in cases such as Anderson's doesn't "normally take that long," Ahsens said.

Syler, who Ahsens described as an experienced judge, went over Anderson's post-conviction rights, "pronounced sentence — he's probably on his way back to prison."

At the time of the murders, Anderson and the Rainwaters' then-17-year-old daughter, Abbey Rainwater, had dated and had an infant daughter together.

The Rainwaters were killed July 25, 1997, at their home. Armed with a stolen handgun, Anderson forced his way into the Rainwater home, where he shot Debbie Rainwater in the head as she held his infant daughter. Anderson then ambushed Stephen Rainwater in the front yard when he arrived home.

When Anderson forcibly entered the Rainwater home, the couple's daughters, Abbey and Whitney, then 11, as well as two of Abbey's friends, were there. After Abbey Rainwater ran for help, Anderson used Whitney, his daughter and one of the friends in an attempt to lure his ex-girlfriend and the other friend out of hiding.

During November's penalty phase, Ahsens said, he put on evidence of the crime, as well as "some information about the impact of the murder on the girls and the rest of their families."

The defense, he said, argued Anderson was operating under "extreme emotional distress over the difficulties he was having with Abbey Rainwater."

One of the defense witnesses was Anderson, who testified on his own behalf.

Ahsens said Anderson admitted he had gone to the Rainwater home "with the purpose to kill both of the Rainwaters, and kill Abbey as well."

Anderson's testimony, he said, included "a lot of inconsistencies between what he said, what other people said and what the physical evidence demonstrated."