In March of 2016, the life of 18-year-old Landon Bays was tragically cut short in Springfield, Missouri. Bays, a male, was discovered on the side of West Catalpa Street with a gunshot wound on March 11, 2016. He was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The initial investigation was hampered by the fact that Bays had no identification on him at the time he was found.
Authorities released a photo of a distinctive wolf tattoo on his forearm to the public in the hopes of identifying him, a measure that ultimately proved successful.
The investigation into the death of Landon Bays stretched on for more than two years before a significant breakthrough occurred. In July of 2018, Chad Murphy, then 35 years old, was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of second-degree murder. The indictment also included charges for tampering with evidence and drug possession. The following month, a second suspect, 23-year-old Khalil Gaines, was also indicted on charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and a drug-related offense. Both men were subsequently arrested and held in the Greene County Jail.
Prosecutors alleged that the motive behind the murder was a drug deal gone wrong. According to court documents, Bays was attempting to sell marijuana to Murphy and Gaines when he was shot. The defense for Gaines would later argue that the original plan was to rob Bays and that the shooting was accidental.
In October 2019, Khalil Gaines pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors recommended a sentence of no more than 25 years. In January 2020, Gaines was formally sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the death of Landon Bays. The legal proceedings for Chad Murphy continued, with a trial scheduled for August of 2020. Publicly available online sources do not provide a definitive outcome for Chad Murphy's trial.
