Background: The Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, Missouri (Google Maps). Inset: Todd Capstick (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office).
A man in Missouri is accused of gunning down his wife while she was on a video call with one of her family members.
Todd Capstick, 55, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 56-year-old Dawn Capstick, as well as armed criminal action, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
On Nov. 5, a family member said, she was on a video call with Dawn Capstick when "something was said about shooting," according to a probable cause statement obtained by Law&Crime. The phone appeared to be on the floor when Todd Capstick "briefly appeared on the screen before the call was muted, then paused."
The woman said she hung up and dialed 911.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office reported that its 911 center got a call from this woman asking deputies to check on Dawn Capstick, who lived in Festus, Missouri, which is just south of St. Louis. Deputies responded and found the victim in a bedroom "with multiple apparent gunshot wounds."
Authorities pronounced Dawn Capstick dead, and they found "multiple .45 caliber shell casings" in the bedroom.
Investigators learned there were multiple cameras at the home, and the woman who made the report had access to them. The footage from that day apparently showed Dawn Capstick "entering the residence through the garage door, followed by Todd."
About 22 minutes later in the video, the defendant could be seen leaving the house through the garage door "holding a black and silver handgun." He put the gun in his pants pocket and got into the driver's seat of a black Ford truck, the court document states.
Authorities found Todd Capstick in the truck about an hour later and arrested him, allegedly finding a .45-caliber black and silver handgun. He was booked into jail.
The defendant has been arraigned and is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 30.