A St. Charles County man sits in the Butler County jail after he allegedly killed two women in Qulin over the weekend.
Steven T. Scott, 30, of O’Fallon is charged with two Class A felony counts of first-degree murder, four unclassified felony counts of armed criminal action, one Class D felony count of abuse or neglect of a child, one Class D felony count of endangering the welfare of a child, one Class D felony count of unlawful possession of a firearm and one Class E felony count of unlawful use of a weapon.
The victims have been identified as Margaret E. Delcour, 36, of Broseley and Wendy L. Rhodes, 48, of Qulin.
According to the probable cause statement by Butler County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Edward Holloway, deputies responded to a residence on New Hampshire Street in Qulin at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday in reference to a person being shot in the residence.
When deputies arrived, they discovered two white females inside the residence, later identified as Delacour and Rhodes, who had been shot in the head.
Deputies then made contact with Scott’s girlfriend, who reportedly told deputies she believed Scott had shot and killed the two women. The girlfriend went on to say she and her two young children were inside the residence at time of the shooting, and that the older child witnessed the shooting.
Great Circle Child Advocacy conducted an interview with the older child, who reportedly said it saw Scott and the two women arguing — then allegedly saw Scott pull out a handgun (later identified as a .380), put it to his head, then cock it and shoot Delacour and Rhodes.
At approximately 5 a.m. Sunday, the Dexter Police Department received a call from Tevis Noles III, the manager of Walmart in Dexter, who reported a suspicious person was attempting to enter the store and that person told Noles he had just killed two people.
Dexter police officers were dispatched to Walmart and detained the suspicious person, who turned out to be Scott.
Holloway and Butler County Sheriff’s Investigator Dakota Loggains arrived in Dexter and took custody of Scott. It also was reported by Dexter Police at that time Scott seemed to be high on methamphetamine because of his behavior and erratic speech.
After Scott was informed of his rights, he allegedly told Holloway and Loggains he and his girlfriend left their home in Jefferson County to travel south to visit family. Scott said he believed they were in danger from two different persons, which he identified as Roy and Big Un, and that they were on the run from Division of Family Services.
Scott allegedly went on to tell Holloway and Loggains after he arrived at the residence on New Hampshire Street, he felt uneasy and later believed his life was in danger, leading to him shooting Delacour and Rhodes.
Scott is being held without bond at the Butler County jail. He made his initial court appearance Monday before Judge Wade Pierce at the Butler County Courthouse.