On the evening of November 16, 2025, a white male identified as 48-year-old Keith Colgrove was fatally shot during a domestic dispute in Newburg, Missouri. The incident occurred at a rural property located in the 16000 block of State Route T, where Keith had been visiting his mother’s home. What began as a mundane attempt to repair a broken coffee pot reportedly spiraled into a heated verbal altercation between Keith and his older brother.
The argument intensified as the two men struggled with the appliance, eventually spilling out of the residence and turning physical.
According to investigators and accounts provided by the men's mother, the dispute escalated dramatically when the brother, identified as 55-year-old Eric Dewayne Colgrove, left the immediate scene to return to his own nearby home. Authorities allege that Eric retrieved a firearm before following Keith back into Keith’s residence. It was there that Eric allegedly opened fire, striking his younger brother multiple times. The boys' mother, who had witnessed the rapid escalation of violence, dialed 911 at approximately 6:07 p.m., frantically informing dispatchers that her sons were shooting at each other and that the situation had moved far beyond a household disagreement.
Deputies from the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the scene to find Keith Colgrove suffering from critical gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel rushed him to Phelps Health in nearby Rolla, Missouri, for urgent treatment. Despite the efforts of medical staff, Keith succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The tragedy was quickly categorized as a fratricide, with law enforcement isolating the coffee pot dispute as the singular, trivial catalyst for the lethal encounter.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, deputies arrested Eric Colgrove without incident. He was booked into the Phelps County Jail later that same night. Prosecutors subsequently charged Eric with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with his brother's death. As the legal proceedings commenced, Eric was ordered to be held without bond, facing the prospect of life in prison for the alleged murder. No other suspects were sought in connection with the case, which authorities described as an isolated family tragedy.
