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 Saline County Sheriff Wally George, left, speaks with Daniel Ray Berning after Berning pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of burglary. Berning admitted he caused the deaths of Richard "R.D." and Jessie "Tiny" Shepard in June 2006. [Click to enlarge] |
Berning and Anderson also pleaded guilty to two counts of armed criminal action and one count of burglary as part of a plea agreement with the state, represented by Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Don Stouffer.
Berning's trial on first-degree murder, armed criminal action, arson and burglary had been scheduled to begin Monday, May 12.
As part of the agreement, Berning was sentenced to 15 years in Missouri Department of Corrections for the burglary conviction.
Anderson waived his right to parole on the burglary charge and was sentenced to seven years.
Pettis County Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Koffman presided at the hearings.
The sentences meted out today, and any other sentencing on the remaining charges, will run concurrently.
Anderson, 18 at the time of the crime, could have faced the death penalty if found guilty of the original first-degree murder charge.
Both will receive credit for time already served, as provided by Missouri law. They have been held without bond since mid-June 2006.
A charge of arson will be dismissed for both defendants.
Stouffer said the state recommends the two be sentenced to 30 years for the second-degree murder and armed criminal action convictions, but sentencing on the charges will be delayed until Berning and Anderson "testify truthfully" in any other criminal actions.
Stouffer said, "As a result of their plea agreements, they agreed to testify against (Lyndale D.) Henderson and 'anyone else who may be charged in the future.'"
Stouffer added, "I continue to hold the strong belief that another person or persons participated to some degree in these murders."
In a press release issued Friday, Stouffer announced that Zona Henderson (no relation to Lyndale) of Marshall "has been indicted for perjury in previous testimony related to this case -- and the grand jury will be considering the indictment of additional persons."
Lyndale D. Henderson, the third defendant charged in the Shepard case, did not appear in court Friday; his trial is scheduled to begin July 7.
Before the judge sentenced each of the defendants, Stouffer read into the court record a detailed timeline of the execution of the crime.
Berning, he said, gained entry to the home from a lower-level window on the west side of the home. He then opened the door for the other two.
While the three were exploring the lower levels of the house, the Shepards awoke and a confrontation took place in their bedroom on the upper level of the home that resulted in their deaths.
Stouffer said both had sustained wounds of the neck and head from both blunt trauma and sharp force instruments.
In an effort to conceal the crime, the perpetrators set fire to the bedroom. The case was initially treated as an accidental fire until an autopsy revealed the assault.
In reading the detailed charges, Stouffer confirmed what had only been speculation for the last two years -- that the initial goal of the crime was to rob the Shepards of what was believed to be a large amount of cash in the house.
Instead, the last paragraph of the probable cause statement said the trio netted only $70 in cash, "taken from the wallet of Richard Shepard."
Neither of the defendants showed much emotion during the hearing. They arrived in court in jail-issue orange clothing and orange shower sandals, shackled hand and foot.
Of the two, Berning was quieter, answering the judge's questions in a soft monotone. Anderson, too, was subdued, but addressed the court in a firmer tone of voice.
Asked about the reduction of the charge from first-degree to second-degree murder, taking the death penalty off the table for Anderson, Stouffer said he'd given the issue a lot of thought.
"The death penalty should be administered fairly, and I had trouble justifying the state putting Anderson to death, when his two co-defendants, within a year or 18 months of his age, were not eligible," he said.
Stouffer said he hadn't yet made a decision on whether to seek the death penalty for Anderson before today's events, because that decision is usually made much closer to the trial date. Anderson was scheduled to be tried in September.
"I don't know what I would have done," he said. "But I've spent a lot of time thinking about it."
In today's press release, Stouffer reinforced his statement about others possibly involved in the brutal crime.
"I believe there are persons in the community who have information concerning these murders who have not yet come forward. We cannot tolerate these brutal murders in our county, and I implore those persons with information contact Sgt. Brad Bartlett of the Marshall Police Department," he said.
Members of the Shepard and Berning families, who were present in the courtroom for both hearings, had no comment.
Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net or Kathy Fairchild at marshallhealth@socket.net
I want to say I apologize for the Shepard's family loss. I am the sister of Spencer Anderson. I can not express how deeply sorry I am. I am currently serving in Iraq and I just got wind of this situation. I never knew that this could be my brother. He once was a good, well-behaved and disciplined child. And that was when I was present. All children need examples to live by, that someone to look up to. And Spencer did not have that. As a child growing up around a mother that was constantly high off of stimulants and other illicit drugs we did what we had to do. I on other hand was fortunate to be taken out of that wild and loose environment; but he wasn't as well as our other siblings. I am not here to justify why he did what he did. That is not my intentions. I just read all of your comments and I began to think, "He should be punished, with no doubt or question." I don't believe in the death penalty, never have and never will. But I do believe in "Forgiveness". I know that it is hard to forgive someone who has committed such an awful crime and that has taken something or someone away from you that you hold close to you, but at the end of the day, and regardless of what the outcome, he will be judged by the Lord. Who are you all to pass judgment on someone you don't know? You do not know what his situation is. You don't know where he came from. You don't anything about him. As I stated above, he should be punished; but not by you- the people. Maybe your justice system is not right, maybe they aren't doing a good job in prosecuting someone, but hell they are still kids. You can partially blame the parents, but we are all accountable for our actions. Death isn't always the answer. Personally I don't want to spend my hard earned money on keeping people in jail, but I oppose the death penalty. And for you- OUTSIDER- you need not talk about ropes. We should be past that; this is a new day and a new era. You need to look within yourself. If the shoe was on the other foot and a family member of yours committed the same crime you wouldn't be talking about a rope… All I say is, on "Judgment Day" he will have to face our creator; not you…
I have one thing to say you can be the sheriff and your kid may not turn out right. So please quit attacking the parents. You never know.
First things first. Iam a family member to RD and Tiny. This has been the worst thing that has ever happend. It has been a long process and still is going. It sucks not to be able to get the closure that the family needs. We have to deal with this everyday. Everybody has different veiws with this. Some people believe that it is the parents fault but its not. These boys knew what they were doing. I have always believed that if someone kills another person they should be killed the same way but we all know that it doesn't work that way. Everyone has different beliefs and if the courts tryed to do what everyone wanted it would be even more crazy than what it is now. For the comment Don Stouffer made that there is others out there that knows something. I do believe that! The guilt will eat them up soon. As being a family member there are alot of things that dont add up in this. Like...how did the boys know that they had money in the house???? You just dont pick a house that has a older couple who bakes and makes angels for money? They had to of had someone tell them that they keep money in the house! To me I think it sounds like someone close to the family or even a family member! Maybe I'm wrong but what if I'm not. We all have our thought on this. I know soon we will get the closure that we all deserve!
I was not trying to take up for Danny,I strongly belive in the death peantly,probly more than you.Im not trying blame his parents,because he was a part of this horrible crime, so he should pay for his own action. I too would like to see people who murder others get a $.50 bullet between the eyes,so we as tax payers don't end up paying for there sentence with them! I belive if someone is convicted of murder, they should face death and not 5 or 10 years down the road, but 2 or 3 months why pay for them to sit in a prison and have it better than me or you out here trying to make a living in the real world.
Personally I believe in the death penalty. Why should they be able to have a place to stay, eat, able to live a normal life just without going outside of the gates. They would be able to go work out on the weights. If they do not get the death penalty I believe they should never be able to see the light of day again. To a point you can blame the parent's, but then on the other hand children their age have seen tv and see what happen's to people that commit crimes. They sould have taken upon themselves to know the difference between right and wrong. I know many kids that never had their parent's around, but yet they are not out murdering people, maybe they would just smoke a little pot here and there but nothing outrageous to where they are hurting other people. That's all I have to say right now on this subject.
I don't all three of the boys,but I do know Danny.He's the youngest of three! Spoiled roten to the ripe age of 5 or 6 ! Then his mother ran off and left, his father never had time for them. He was never taught morals, compassion,or even love.All he saw was fighting, yelling and vilance. They were left at home by there self most of the time to run the streets and fin for their self ! I'm not taking up for Danny,because I know he will pay for his awful crimes,but think of this 16 year old boy with the brain of a 12 year old. He will pay for his parents not taking responsabilty or not raising there child with morals or compassion. My heart goes out to the Shepard's family, but remember this boy will have pay for his crime through his parent's unwillingness to raise there child as apart of our soicety.
First of all, "Lil Bit", I would suggest that you stop typing in Cap Lock because that suggests screaming, and there is no need to yell.... this is a serious matter. I'm sure that there is alot of information that we as the public, don't get to have the details of. I lived in Marshall when this murder happend, it was a very tragic and unexpected event. It's not us to say what happens to the boys who did this, leave that up to the judge, that is what he/she gets paid to do. These kids will get whats coming to them. Like what POWERstobe said, and eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth. It may happen now, it may happen long after they get out of jail, but it will.
WELL! ALL I CAN DO IS SHAKE MY HEAD! FOR THOSE PPL ALWAYS HAVING SOMETHING TO SAY AND NOT KNOWING SQUAT! SOME PARENTS DONT GIVE A CRAP ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN AND LEAVE THEM FREE TO DO WHAT THEY WANT COME AND GO AS THEY PLEASE TEACH THEM NO MORALS NO VALULES BUT HEY THAT AINT EVERY PARENT "SOME KIDS" ARE RAISED IN A STABLE HOME TRAINED UP VERY WELL AND HAS NEVER BEEN OR SEEN TROUBLE BEFORE EVER! THATS A SIGN OF GOOD PARENTING WHEN YOU GET YOUR KIDS RAISED UP AND HAS NEVER CAUSED TROUBLE IN ANYONES LIFE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD KIDS. GOOD KIDS DONT JUST GO WRONG. UNTRAINED KIDS NOT BROUGHT UP OR CARED FOR PROPERLY END UP BAD KIDS AND THOSE ARE THE KIDS YOU LOOK FOR TO COMMITT CRIMES AND THEY ARE THE ONES ALWAYS IN TROUBLE AND HAS HISTORY OF TROUBLE. YOU SHOULD DO YOUR HOMEWORK CAUSE THAT STATEMENT DOESNT FIT. YOU HAVE TO KNOW A PERSON TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SUCH COMMENTS HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW ANY OF THESE KIDS HOME LIFE AND UP BRINGING WERE LIKE?HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS TAUGHT TO THEM AND WHAT WASNT? YOU SEE THEM AS GUILTY SO THEY NATURALLY WERNT TAUGHT THATS LAME! BUT IF YOU COULD LOOK INTO THE HISTORY YOU COULD SEE WHO WAS TAUGHT AND WHO WASNT! PPL NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT OPEN YOUR MINDS TO THE FACT THAT JUST CUZ ITS SAID DONT MEAN THAT IT IS! I USE TO THINK TALK WAS CHEAP NOW I SEE THAT TALK IS WORTH MORE THEN ANYONE CAN PUT A PRICE ON! PPL DONT LOOK FOR TRUTH ANYMORE THEY TAKE WHATS SAID AND IT JUST IS WHO CARES IF ITS TRUE! PPL BELIEVE WHAT THE EARS HEAR AND NOT WHAT THE EYES SEE(TRUTH) IF YA WANNA SAY THE PARENTS FAILED FINE BUT THAT DOESNT MAKE IT TRUE JUST CUZ YOU SAY SO! TRUTH IS BACKED UP BY FACTS A PERSONS WORD SHOULD MEAN NOTHING WITHOUT SUPPORTING FACTS. YOU HAVE NO FACTS ON HOW ANY OF THESE KIDS WERE RAISED OR THE BACKGROUND OF ANY OF THEM GET THOSE FACTS JUST CUZ ITS SAID DONT MEAN ITS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree that this was a heinous crime and my comment to follow is not meant to minimize that fact. Just trying to facilitate an intelligent discussion.
Just to address some comments made by some speculating on how much time these two may get or do. Each of them is facing up to 30 years on the second degree murder charges. By statute, they have to serve 85% of the sentence they receive before they are eligible for parole for a conviction of second degree murder. RSMo 558.019(3).I just saw some comments that suggested they would only serve only a small portion of their sentence.
And JJ, I don't agree with much of what you say. However, today I agree. There are estimates out there that over 90% of criminal cases are disposed of by guilty pleas through plea negotiations. If this were not the case, the criminal justice system would be congested and backed up way beyond what it already is. As it is now, in many local counties, cases are not being set for trial until next fall because of the caseloads in the courts. And I believe there is something to be said for a defendant pleading guilty and accepting responsibility rather than putting the family through the pain and ordeal of a trial where all the gruesome details of a horrible crime will be relived and saving the county and taxpayers the expense of a trial.
They'll learn some real tricks and be back in society before they're 35.
I say get a rope.
How sad: These young men, grew into barbarians, at ages 16,17, and 19 and broke into the home of an elderly couple who eked out a living by carving angels and baking.
Why did the parents of these young men fail to give them a moral compass? Why were 16 and 17 year old boys not supervised? People should not bring children into the world if they are not willing to rear children to take personal responsibility.
Lil Bit,
I would never claim to know the pain of the victims' family. In this case I can have emphathy--I do know some of the family members very well, but having never dealt with this particular kind of tragedy personally, I'd be lying if I said I could truly understand.
My earlier statement about closure was simply to point out that at least *something* is done...that one part of this ordeal doesn't have to be left to wonder about any longer. As also stated earlier, I can easily agree with death by firing squad, electric chair, gas chamber, or any other method. The end may not have turned out the way a lot of us would have liked it to, but it is the end of (at least) something.
If you are a family member, I sincerely meant no offense and in no way did I intend to speak with any kind of authority on the matter.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Shepard family...
The entire story is up and running now - thanks for your patience.
Until the justice system punishes criminals fairly, we should all expect to see these goons out running around in the near future. Until then, all they can do is arrest and prosecute them. Liberal attorneys are the real criminals here, though! They don't care if they are a murderer or rapist as long as they get paid. That is why our country has flipped in the criminal justice realm.
EASY FOR PPL TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM! IN ALL REALITY THE SYSTEM IS THE ENEMY SAY IT WORKS I SAY LIES. SAY JUSTICE IS SERVED I SAY NOT! SHEESH ARE FACTS NOT IMPORTANT ANYMORE? NO ITS ALL ABOUT TAX DOLLARS AND ALL THAT BULL WELL ID RATHER PAY MY MONEY TO SEE JUSTICE DONE FAIRLY THEN TO JUST TAKE WHATS PUT ON THE TABLE TO SAVE A FEW BUCKS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PPLS LIVES! THE DAMN ALMIGHTY DOLLAR RUNS EVERYTHING AND YALL CALL IT JUSTICE! I CALL IT CRAP AND SCREW THE SYSTEM AND ITS BAG OF TRICKS.
Now we have 2 that have admitted to murder. So we will feed them and put a roof over their heads for the next 5-10 years because they will never serve their full sentence.They will get out at a young age and probably commit more crimes because their punishment was not near severe enough. Oh well, thats what wrong with the world today!!!!
Aneditor,Typesetter,youknow How about you guys get a job for the Democrat News. Until then leave Mr. Crump alone. If you find a mistake...then shoot him an email...no need to drop a "dime" and waste space on the comments section.
YOU CAN TEACH A DOG TO FETCH SO YOU CAN TRAIN A HUMAN ON WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT TO DO. PLEAD=LIE! I WOULDNT TRUST THE MISSOURI JUSTICE SYSTEM OR THE PPL IN IT TO SAVE MY LIFE FOR ANY REASON! JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! AND AS FAR AS CLOSURE AINT NO DAMN CLOSURE UNTIL THE SYSTEM WORKS WITH TRUTH AND NOT LIES.
There is more to this story - we have a little computer glitch for the moment that's preventing the rest of it from showing up, but we'll get that fixed as soon as we can.
you know... Newspapers attempt to follow AP style. AP style says it's "pleaded." Which is why Mr. Crump changed it. Let's move on.
In terms of whether the little dolls got what they deserved, they could either cut a deal now or cost you folks several hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the court system (still being fed off the taxpayer boob) for the rest of their worthless lives with the same result.
It is not over yet, they were just sentenced for the burglary. I have a feeling or maybe a hope that when it is all said and done,they will be locked up for a very long time.
It was only about 6 months ago that Don Stouffer was being criticized because of a mistrial in the Doug Willis case (which had nothing to do with Stouffer). 4 months later, Willis gets 30 years in prison and now two murderers are going to prison, all because of Stouffer's hard work. Will those who so freely criticized Stouffer just 6 months ago now give him the pat on the back he deserves? I doubt it! My hats off to Stouffer and his staff. Job well done!
Who cares about when you should use pleaded or pled? The issue here should be whether or not you think those boys got off easy or if you think justice was served!
Emotionally, I agree with you tommob.
In this particular case, I have to agree with JJ. Good point, JJ. It's time for some closure on this case.
Eye for a eye and a tooth for a tooth.Is there any more questions?
It is pleaded without the auxiliary verb:
I pleaded guilty.
It is pled with the auxiliary verb:
I have pled guilty.
then no one would ever admit to murder and the court system would be backed up even further.......you have to reward honesty tom
Typesetter -- From AP stylebook under plead, pleaded, pleading entry: "Do not use the colloquial past tense form, pled."
But it's fixed now and appreciated.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the PREFERRED past tense of "plead" is "pleaded." An alternative and acceptable past tense is "pled."
It's "pleaded," Mr. Editor. FTLOG
Why do we have to feed this individual for the next 15-30 years. This man admitted to murder. If its murder and there is no doubt about it....I say fry him!!!!!!!