Two Arizona men dead after apparent murder-suicide in Cape Girardeau

Two Arizona men are dead following a Friday morning shooting that awoke much of the neighborhood in a quiet residential area of Cape Girardeau.

Police are investigating the incident as a murder-suicide.

Several units from the Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to a house at 1129 Landgraf Drive shortly after 3 a.m. and found the bodies of Richard M. Carrube, 23, of Mesa, Ariz., and Joshua Adams, 31, lying in the driveway. Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton identified the men, who were co-workers, Friday afternoon.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jason Selzer said investigators believe an argument between the two prompted Adams to shoot Carrube multiple times before turning the gun on himself.

Adams and Carrube were traveling from Arizona to Indiana and stopped in Cape Girardeau on Thursday to spend the night at the home, which is owned by Adams' grandfather, family said.

At the scene, a pistol was visible near Adams' right arm, and shell casings could be seen scattered about the driveway.

Family members, who were gathered at the home Friday afternoon, said they were told by police that Adams and Carrube likely became involved in the altercation after returning from a night out at downtown Cape Girardeau bars and an Illinois nightclub.

Police have interviewed people who saw the men together to try to piece together what happened, according to Selzer, but for now there is no evidence to suggest that what took place in the driveway was different from the early police reconstruction of the events, and no indication other people were involved.

"We're looking at this as a murder-suicide unless something else comes to light," he said.

Adams' grandfather was asleep at the time of the incident and said Friday he did not wake up when shots were fired. Selzer said as far as police know, no one actually saw the shooting occur.

In this cell phone photo, police surround the home at Landgraf Drive, where an apparent shooting left two men dead early Friday morning. (Erin Ragan)

Police who responded to the incident searched a silver Toyota sedan belonging to Adams, which sat parked near the men's bodies. A second gun was found in the car, according to family members, although they were unsure if anyone had tried to use or did use the gun during the incident.

Adams owned a gun and had a permit for it, according to his family, but they said they weren't sure if the gun police found was his.

Selzer said he could not confirm the claims about the ownership of the gun made by family members or whether a second gun was recovered, but said police do believe the gun that fired the shots was the same one on the ground next to Adams' body.

Several neighbors at the scene said they heard between five and nine gunshots. Some who were awake at the time also said they heard voices a few minutes before the shots.

Adams and Carrube used a taxi service to get back to the residence from the nightclub after becoming separated from Adams' cousin, family members said. The cousin later took a van provided by the club to return to the Cape Girardeau home.

Family members said Adams traveled often for his job selling security systems. They also doubted his alleged responsibility for Carrube's death and his own, saying they knew him to be a person who normally resolved conflicts peacefully.

Harrison Saxon lives two houses away from the scene and said he was awake and working in his basement when he heard the gunshots.

"There was a few seconds there was a pause between the next to last one and the last one," Saxon said.

He said he walked outside a few moments later to see about the noises and saw no cars moving or anyone around. Police searched only the yard of the residence containing the men's bodies and a yard next door.

Meredith Grissom heard the shots from inside her home on the eastern side of the cul-de-sac street, which is separated from the residence where the shooting happened by about two blocks. She joined other residents near the scene while investigators took photographs and the coroner collected the men.

"I feel like I am watching a play or something. It doesn't seem real," she said.

People who have lived on Landgraf Drive for years said there has never been an incident like Friday's shooting that has happened nearby.

"It's the first time we've ever had anything in this neighborhood," said Earl Buchheit, another neighbor. "It's been real quiet and peaceful."

The area's last murder-suicide was in June 2009, when a Scott City man, John Albert Shuffit, shot and killed his estranged wife, Stephanie Lynn Shuffit, outside her rural Perry County residence and then himself a short time later. In Jackson in December 2007, Mir Shahin Moshiri took his own life after shooting his family in their home, killing his 4-year-old daughter and seriously injuring his wife, stepson and 2-year-old daughter.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1129 Landgraf Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO