On a Sunday evening in Thayer, Missouri, a heated argument between 44-year-old George Rhody Campbell and Cynthia Deann Willman, 40, escalated to a fatal conclusion. The events of June 11, 2017, were set in motion when the Thayer Police Department received a distressing 911 call from a juvenile reporting that his mother had shot George.
Upon arrival at Willman's residence on North Third Street, an officer discovered the juvenile male visibly upset in the yard.
Inside, law enforcement found Campbell lying in the living room with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Emergency medical personnel attended to Campbell, but he ultimately succumbed to his injury. While medics were with Campbell, an officer entered a bedroom and noted a damaged mirror and blood in the room.
A search of the area led to the discovery of Willman hiding in the woods behind her home, with blood on the front of her white dress. Investigators located a 30-30 lever action Winchester rifle inside the residence with a spent shell casing in the chamber. A subsequent interview with the juvenile witness revealed that during the argument, Willman had pressed the rifle against Campbell's stomach. Campbell reportedly told her he was not afraid to die for the people he loved, at which point Willman pulled the trigger.
Cynthia Deann Willman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawful use of a weapon. She was taken into custody with an initial bond set at $200,000. Court records show that her bond was later reduced to $100,000, which she posted, leading to her release. Following her release, Willman faced new, unrelated felony charges for third-degree assault, possession of a controlled substance, and endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs after an officer observed a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine in her home.
