Son sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally shooting father in Lee’s Summit home
A 24-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in Missouri prison for fatally shooting his father in their Lee’s Summit home in August.
Michael E. Hamilton, of Lee’s Summit, pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court to voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the killing of Robert Hamilton. He was ordered to serve 15 years on each felony conviction, with the sentences set to run back-to-back.
Robert Hamilton was killed in his home on Aug. 31. Officers arrived to find his wife laying on top of his dead body, crying, on the kitchen floor, according to court documents.
Detectives were told the younger Hamilton had moved in with his father weeks earlier and that the relationship between them had long been hostile.
Michael Hamilton was not in the house when police arrived. Neighbors handed over surveillance footage that showed his pickup truck pulling out of the driveway that evening.
On Sept. 1, the following day, police tracked Michael Hamilton’s phone to Cooper County, Missouri. He was stopped by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and had in his possession two handguns with apparent blood on them, including one that was confirmed through a lab test to be the weapon used to kill his father.
Detectives also found a series of handwritten notes during a search of the Hamilton residence that were collected as evidence. Phrases on the notes included “I didn’t want this” and “He was abusive,” according to court documents.
