In the quiet community of Warsaw, Missouri, the life of 27-year-old Tarah D. McIntyre was cut short in a residence she shared with her boyfriend. The initial call to Benton County dispatch in the early morning hours of November 23, 2021, reported an accidental shooting, but the scene that greeted deputies would soon point to a different and more deliberate story.
Inside the home, law enforcement found Tarah McIntyre with a fatal gunshot wound.
Despite the immediate life-saving efforts of the deputies who first arrived, she could not be revived. Her boyfriend, 25-year-old Jason Lewis Kroenke, was taken into custody as the investigation began to unfold. While Kroenke initially claimed that McIntyre had taken her own life, the evidence at the scene began to contradict his account of the events that transpired.
Investigators noted inconsistencies between Kroenke's statement and the physical evidence. Kroenke told authorities that he and McIntyre had been using methamphetamine when an argument broke out. He alleged that McIntyre had threatened to kill herself and that the gun discharged as he turned around. However, detectives discovered that the fatal shot appeared to have been fired through a pillow, a detail Kroenke had omitted from his narrative. This key piece of evidence, coupled with other discrepancies, led authorities to believe that Tarah McIntyre's death was not self-inflicted.
Following the investigation by the Benton County Sheriff's Office, Jason Lewis Kroenke was formally charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of his girlfriend. He was held without bond at the Benton County Jail. During his arraignment, Kroenke pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. The case then entered the judicial process to determine the events that led to the tragic end of Tarah McIntyre's life.
