Rebecca Ruud's husband still charged with murder after she was found not guilty
Robert Peat Jr.'s court case was back on the docket Friday morning, roughly a month after his wife and co-defendant was found not guilty of murder.
Peat is Rebecca Ruud's co-defendant and husband. Ruud was accused of killing her 16-year-old autistic daughter, Savannah Leckie, in 2017 in Ozark county. After multiple delays to the court proceedings, Ruud had a bench trial earlier this year and was found not guilty of first- or second-degree murder.
She was, however, found guilty of abandonment of a corpse for burning her daughter's body. Ruud's defense was that Leckie had killed herself and Ruud panicked upon finding the body.
Peat was also arrested and accused of being involved in Leckie's death. He is facing the same charges Ruud was: first-degree murder, child abuse in the first degree, felony murder, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.
More: Ozark County woman Rebecca Ruud found not guilty of murder in daughter's death
Peat has been out on bond since 2018. He also testified against Ruud during her bench trial. During his testimony, Peat discussed Leckie's state of mind and the last time he had seen her, also testifying that he would like a divorce from Ruud.
Peat's court proceedings have been delayed until November while a replacement is found for Judge Calvin Holden, who presided over Ruud's bench trial and retired at the end of July.
The Missouri Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how it will proceed with Peat's case now that Ruud was found not guilty of murder.
Peat’s attorney declined to comment on the case.
More: State calls Rebecca Ruud's husband to testify against her at Savannah Leckie murder trial
Jordan Meier covers public safety for the Springfield News-Leader. Contact her at jmeier@news-leader.com, or on Twitter @Jordan_Meier644.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Rebecca Ruud's husband still charged with murder despite her verdict
