CENTERVILLE, Mo. -- Two Southeast Missouri men recently were ordered to stand trial in connection with a triple shooting that left an elderly Ellington, Mo., couple dead and another woman with gunshot wounds to her head.
David Young, 68, of Ironton, Mo., appeared Wednesday before Associate Circuit Judge Benjamin Thompson for a preliminary hearing on two Class A felonies of first-degree murder, three unclassified felonies of armed criminal action and the Class A felonies of first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.
Instead of having a hearing, Young, according to Casenet, provided the court with a signed waiver.
Thompson reportedly accepted Young's waiver and ordered him to appear at 9 a.m. April 5 before Circuit Judge Sidney Pearson III for arraignment on the charges.
Young's codefendant, Timothy Callahan, 44, of Farmington, Mo., appeared before Thompson on Feb. 13 for a preliminary hearing on the same charges.
At that time, Callahan also waived having a preliminary hearing.
Thompson accepted Callahan's waiver and ordered him to appear at 9 a.m. Tuesday before Pearson for arraignment.
Both men are charged in connection with an Oct. 18 shooting, which occurred at about 4 p.m. at the James and Janet Nance residence on Highway 106, about five miles west of Ellington. The couple, as well as another woman, were shot in the head during an apparent robbery.
All three were taken to a St. Louis, Mo., area hospital, where Janet Nance, 72, died the same day. Her 86-year-old husband died three days later.
The other woman, 73-year-old Arlene Barber, survived the attack and provided authorities with vehicle and suspect descriptions.
During the ensuing multijurisdictional investigation, officers followed numerous leads as they searched for the suspects and suspect vehicle.
Those leads led investigators to Ohio where Callahan and Young were taken into custody on Oct. 28 at a motel in the Deerfield Township.
Authorities say the Nances were targeted for an alleged robbery by Callahan and Young, who had done some work for James Nance.
After his arrest in Ohio and being told of his rights, Callahan admitted he and Young "traveled to the Nance residence on Highway 106 on Oct. 18, 2017, for the purpose of committing a robbery" there, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Paul Wells' probable-cause affidavit.
Callahan told investigators they drove Young's Pontiac Sunfire to the home, and "he and Young were armed with a .22-caliber revolver and 9mm handgun."
The men, according to Callahan's statement, allegedly stole an undetermined amount of money from James Nance.
"As this was occurring, Janet Nance and Arlene Barber arrived at the residence," Wells said. "Callahan stated that he shot James Nance, Janet Nance and Arlene Barber in the back of the head with the .22-caliber revolver. He and Young then fled the scene."