In the spring of 2018, a domestic dispute in a quiet home in Elkland, Missouri, escalated into a tragedy that would claim the lives of two women and shatter a family. On April 17, 2018, 54-year-old Kristee Robyn Bedgood, a resident of Marshfield, Missouri, was fatally shot. The day of her death was also her birthday.
The violence erupted in the home Kristee shared with her husband, Scott Bedgood, during a heated argument over the custody of a child.
Kristee's son-in-law, Kenneth Livingston, was at the center of the dispute. In a sudden and violent turn, Livingston opened fire, shooting both his wife, Lindsey Livingston, and his mother-in-law, Kristee. After the initial shots, an exchange of gunfire occurred between Livingston and Scott Bedgood. Livingston then fled the scene but was apprehended by law enforcement officers while he was en route from the home.
Kenneth Livingston, who was 34 at the time of the jury's conviction, faced the consequences of his actions in a court of law. In October 2021, a jury found him guilty of the deaths of both his wife and mother-in-law. The charges against him were severe and numerous, reflecting the gravity of the crime. For the death of his mother-in-law, Kristee Bedgood, he was charged with first-degree murder. He also faced charges of second-degree murder for his wife's death, one count of first-degree assault, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, and three counts of armed criminal action.
The legal proceedings concluded with a significant sentence for Livingston. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the killings. The court handed down a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder of Kristee Bedgood. For the second-degree murder of his wife, he received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Additionally, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for first-degree assault and 30 years for each of the three counts of armed criminal action, with all sentences to run consecutively. The case was tried in Taney County after a change of venue was requested by the defense.
