In the summer of 2015, a dispute over a grill and an outdoor table in Mount Vernon, Missouri, escalated into a fatal encounter, claiming the life of 32-year-old Kevin Eugene Stafford. The incident, which unfolded on August 9, 2015, began when Stafford reported to the local police that his ex-girlfriend, Deannda Mills, had taken the items from him.
A Mount Vernon police officer intervened, contacting Mills and instructing her to return the belongings to Stafford.
Shortly after, Mills and her mother, Dena Waite, brought the grill and table back. However, the situation took a dark turn when Dena Waite informed the officer that her husband, Robert Paul Waite, Jr., was enraged by the situation and was heading to Mount Vernon. Stafford himself later contacted the officer to report that a silver Malibu, driven by Robert Waite, was on his street.
Not long after, police were dispatched to Stafford's residence following reports of multiple gunshots. Upon arrival, an officer found the door unanswered and entered the home to discover Stafford on his couch with a significant head wound and a large amount of blood. Emergency medical services were called to the scene and confirmed that Stafford was deceased, having sustained apparent gunshot wounds to his head and chest. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a white male with a handgun leaving the residence.
The investigation quickly led to Robert Waite, who was apprehended in Carthage in a silver vehicle. During his arrest, Waite admitted to shooting Stafford and informed officers that the handgun was in his car, where authorities found a weapon matching the description provided by witnesses. In January 2019, Robert Paul Waite, Jr., then 53, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. As part of a plea agreement, an additional charge of armed criminal action was dropped. Subsequently, in March 2019, Waite was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Kevin Stafford.
