Son’s Fatal Shooting of Father Ruled Justified

A coroner's jury has ruled that a southeast Missouri man acted in defense of his mother when he fatally shot his father.

The Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reports that the six-person jury heard testimony Monday before ruling that 24-year-old Marcus Cornman of Carter County was justified in the fatal shooting of his father, 43-year-old Marcus Rutter.

Rutter died Feb. 20 after his son shot him with a rifle. Carter County Deputy Curtis Robinett testified that Cornman's mother tried to intervene in a dispute between father and son. Cornman told authorities that Rutter grabbed a pistol and held it to Tammy Cornman's head. Marcus Cornman then fatally shot his father.