In the autumn of 1987, a series of tragic events unfolded in the quiet communities near Lebanon, Missouri, leaving a lasting scar on the residents. The life of George Ray Brewer, a 43-year-old man from Niangua, was cut short in a brutal act of violence that was part of a multi-state crime spree. His death was intertwined with the murder of another local man and the disappearance and subsequent confirmed death of his own wife.
On September 16, 1987, George Brewer's body was discovered in
a creek bed near Conway, about 15 miles from Lebanon. He had been shot twice, with at least one of the fatal wounds inflicted to the back of his head. The investigation into his death quickly revealed a larger, more complex web of violence. On the same day, the body of Steven Vestal, 38, was found in his pickup truck at a city park in Lebanon. Ballistics tests would later confirm that the same. 22-caliber gun was used in both slayings. Both Brewer and Vestal had been reported missing the previous day, suggesting a timeline for their tragic ends.
The initial investigation was fraught with uncertainty. A command post was established in Conway, bringing together officers from the Laclede, Dallas, and Webster county sheriff's departments, the Missouri Highway Patrol, and the Lebanon Police Department. A significant point of concern for law enforcement was the disappearance of George Brewer's 36-year-old wife, Carol Brewer. Initially, she was considered a missing person and a person of interest in the case. Volunteers and law enforcement conducted extensive searches of the rural, wooded areas around Conway in a desperate attempt to find her.
The grim mystery began to unravel with a shocking development in Corsicana, Texas. Howard Franklin Stewart, 36, a man whose parents resided in Lebanon, Missouri, embarked on a violent rampage. On September 22, 1987, Stewart killed his former employer, his estranged wife, and a friend before taking his own life. Before his suicide, Stewart confessed to two acquaintances that he was responsible for three murders in Missouri. This confession prompted investigators from Missouri to travel to Texas, where they found evidence linking Stewart to the deaths of George Brewer, Carol Brewer, and Steven Vestal.
Law enforcement officials determined that the Brewers and Vestal had the misfortune of encountering Stewart after he began hitchhiking on September 16. It is believed that he first came into contact with the Brewers, stealing their car and murdering them. He then encountered Steven Vestal and killed him as well. While the exact motive for the killings remains unclear, authorities speculated that Stewart was 'mentally unbalanced,' with potential contributing factors of drug, family, and job-related problems. With the perpetrator deceased, the case never proceeded to a trial or conviction, leaving the community to grapple with the senseless loss of three of its members.
