On a Saturday evening in Jefferson City, Missouri, the life of 27-year-old Erik Spencer was cut short. On November 1, 2025, in a parking lot outside an Old Navy on Missouri Boulevard, Spencer was shot multiple times and died at the scene. The events leading to his death began as a verbal altercation that escalated into a physical domestic disturbance.
Witnesses reported seeing Spencer involved in a physical altercation with his girlfriend near a Chili's restaurant.
He was seen slapping, punching, and throwing her to the ground multiple times. As she tried to drive away, he clung to her car. The vehicle eventually stopped, and the confrontation continued. Spencer then took the woman's phone and threw it.
A man named Spencer Scriber, who was with a friend in a nearby car, witnessed the escalating situation. Retrieving a firearm from the trunk of his own vehicle, Scriber approached Spencer. According to witness statements and Scriber's own account to police, there was a brief verbal exchange. Scriber told law enforcement that Spencer made a movement toward his waistband and threatened to shoot him. In that moment, Scriber fired his weapon, striking Spencer multiple times. After the shooting, witnesses reported seeing Scriber kneel beside Spencer and attempt to provide aid.
Police arrived and took Scriber into custody. He was cooperative throughout the investigation, maintaining that he acted in self-defense and in defense of the woman involved in the domestic dispute. Law enforcement officials confirmed that while Spencer was not armed with a firearm, a knife, or a blunt instrument, the investigation considered his hands and feet as potential weapons in the context of the initial assault. The case was presented to a Cole County grand jury. The grand jury ultimately declined to file charges against Spencer Scriber, including voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. The prosecuting attorney explained that there was not enough evidence to overcome Scriber's claim of self-defense and defense of another under Missouri law. Following the grand jury's decision, the investigation into Erik Spencer's death was officially closed.
