In the fall of 1987, the community of Conway, near Lebanon, Missouri, was shaken by the tragic death of 38-year-old Steven J. 'Steve' Vestal. A male resident of the area, Vestal became an unsuspecting victim in a string of senseless violence that cut his life short on September 16, 1987. His death, caused by a gunshot wound, was part of a triple homicide that also claimed the lives of George and Carol Brewer of Niangua.
The investigation into the brutal slayings led authorities to
identify a single suspect: Howard Franklin Stewart, a 36-year-old man with parental ties to Lebanon. Law enforcement officials pieced together a chilling timeline of events, concluding that Stewart, while hitchhiking, was first picked up by the Brewers and subsequently by Vestal. For reasons that remain unclear to investigators, Stewart shot all three individuals with a. 22-caliber firearm. At the time, sheriffs involved in the case speculated that Stewart was 'mentally unbalanced,' and suggested that drug problems, coupled with family and job issues, may have been contributing factors to his violent outburst.
The pursuit of justice for Steven Vestal and the other victims took a dark and final turn. Before he could be apprehended and held accountable for the murders in Missouri, Howard Franklin Stewart's violent spree came to a grim end in Texas. Shortly after the killings, Stewart traveled to Corsicana, Texas, where he committed another triple homicide, killing his estranged wife, a friend, and his former employer, before taking his own life. This act of suicide brought the investigation to a somber close, leaving a community to grapple with the 'why' behind the tragic loss of life. Because the sole suspect in Steven Vestal's murder died by his own hand, there were no arrests, trial, or conviction in the case.
