UPDATE: Suspect in Joplin double homicide turns gun on self

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Nov. 3—A suspect in a double homicide Monday night in Joplin shot and killed himself after a three-hour armed standoff Wednesday morning with pursuing law enforcement officers in Newton County.

The suspect in the slayings of Stacy Rush and Eric Stampfli — identified as the female victim's estranged husband, David L. Rush, 34, of Wyandotte, Oklahoma — initially was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Joplin where he was listed in critical condition after the standoff on Antelope Road south of U.S. Highway 60, near Seneca.

Joplin police reported late Wednesday afternoon that David Rush had died.

Stacy Rush and Stampfli, both 35, were discovered deceased inside a residence at 2216 S. Annie Baxter Ave., which is listed on court records as her residence.

Rush had filed for divorce from her husband in August in Jasper County Circuit Court, and a proposed judgment was filed with the court by her attorney a week ago. A hearing in the case scheduled for Monday was canceled in light of that filing.

Police confirmed Wednesday before the standoff that the deaths of Stacy Rush and Stampfli, of Grove, Oklahoma, were being treated as murders but did not say how they were killed pending the results of autopsies. But neighbors reported hearing gunshots Monday night before police were called to the address.

A Joplin Police Department statement said a juvenile who was inside the home escaped injury and was determined by investigators not to have been involved in what took place there. The statement did not say if the juvenile witnessed the slayings.

Autopsies scheduled to be performed Wednesday morning in Springfield were rescheduled for Thursday.

Joplin police say detectives working the double homicide developed David Rush as a suspect before Oklahoma authorities' apparent attempt to take him into custody. A vehicle pursuit ensued that crossed into Newton County in Missouri on U.S. Highway 60 before the suspect turned south onto Antelope Road and got out of his vehicle.

"He walked down the middle of the road about 50 yards from his car and just stopped and displayed a gun," said Chris Jennings, the Newton County sheriff. "He apparently knew what he was facing, and this was how he decided to do things."

The sheriff said Rush did not attempt to take cover but remained out in the open on the road as Newton County deputies, Seneca police, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Oklahoma officers gathered at the scene and attempted to get him to surrender peacefully.

Jennings said Rush asked to speak with Joplin detectives working the case and was put in contact with them by phone before his decision to shoot himself.

Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.