A Butler County jury deliberated more than six hours Friday before acquitting a former Poplar Bluff street superintendent of shooting his daughter’s mother during an apparent child custody dispute at his home.
When the 11-woman, one-man jury returned to the courtroom at 4:36 p.m., Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield said, “madam foreperson, you’ve reached a verdict.”
The foreperson indicated they had and handed verdict forms to the bailiff.
After announcing the verdict appeared to be in proper form, Satterfield read the verdict:
“As to count I, we find the defendant, Jeremy Grable, not guilty” of assault in the first degree
“As to count II, we find Jeremy Grable not guilty” of armed criminal action.
The 41-year-old sat silently next his attorney, Dan Moore, as the verdict was read finding him not guilty in connection with the Jan. 31, 2015, shooting of Sheila Hunt, the mother of his then 3-year-old, Alyssa.
Moore, who hugged with his client and his client’s wife after the verdict was announced, said he was “pretty happy” with the jury’s verdict.
“It restores my faith in the judicial system,” Moore explained. “I think the jury saw what had happened, that through no fault of his own Jeremy was forced to take action to defend himself and his family.”
Moore said he didn’t know if “we’ll ever know the explanation as to why Jeremy was targeted that day.
“Hopefully, he can see his child and go on with his life.”
According to trial testimony, Grable has not seen his now 7-year-old daughter since 2015.
“I want to thank the jurors for putting in all their hard work (and) fulfilling their duties,” said Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor. “I respect their decision.”
Proctor also extended his thanks to the Poplar Bluff Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators who worked this case.
“They did an outstanding job,” Proctor said. “I hope Sheila Hunt finds closure to this very difficult chapter in her life.”
The jury retired to begin its deliberations at 10:23 a.m. after hearing closing arguments by Proctor and Moore.
During Grable’s three-day trial, the jurors earlier had heard nearly eight hours of testimony from 13 witnesses, including the defendant who testified on his on behalf Thursday afternoon.
In his closing argument, Proctor told the jury Grable shot “the mother of his 3-year-old child” in what was “really more than a child custody dispute.”
This case, he said, boils down to whether Grable “reasonably believed” he needed to use force to defend himself or another.
“There was no threat; Sheila Hunt was not a threat to the defendant in this case,” Proctor said.
Hunt’s threats and the arguing between she and Grable were “old hat,” he said.
Grable, he said, had no way of knowing Jan. 31, 2015, would be the day Hunt was going carry out her threats and kill him.
What “really happened” is Grable shoved Hunt down and shot her point blank in the chest.
Grable, he said, knew Hunt did not have a concealed-carry weapon permit or own a firearm.
Proctor told the jury Grable “came up” with the self defense of he and his wife to cover his actions.
Proctor said Grable’s wife, Linda, who was inside their truck when Hunt arrived at their Barron Road home, was “not afraid of her.”
If she had been, he said, she would have been paying attention to what was going on between her husband and Hunt, and she would have called 911.
“Jeremy Grable would not let Sheila get to Linda” inside the truck, Proctor said.
What Grable didn’t want, Proctor said, was his wife and Hunt to talk or Hunt to give his wife the sexually explicit text messages and photos he and Hunt and sent each other during their ongoing relationship.
Proctor said as the mother of Grable’s child was struggling to live, “he was deleting text messages” from her phone.
“What he really wanted was the phone; that’s what he was concerned about,” Proctor said.
What happened that night, Proctor said, was about “protecting his way of life” and his job with the city.
Proctor said there were flaws — Grable didn’t know Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman Joey Woodruff’s body camera recorded him scrolling through Hunt’s phone or that Detective Danny Hicks could retrieve the messages he had deleted from Hunt’s home.
The third flaw, he said, “Sheila Hunt lived.”
In his closing argument, Moore said, words and actions have consequences.
In this country, he said, everyone has the right to defend his or herself.
“All you have to do is act reasonably,” Moore said. “ … You have to reasonably believe someone is out to harm you” or a loved one.
“That is your God given right,” he said.
Calling the state’s account “wild speculation,” Moore told the jury he was going to talk about facts.
Moore said it was a fact his client has no history of violence or alcohol and drug use.
Hunt, he said, has a documented history of violence and alcohol and drug use.
Moore said Hunt made threats in writing (text messages), so although she denied it, there was no reason not to believe she also made verbal threats toward the Grables.
“Jeremy Grable did not try to offer excuses,” Moore said. “Ms. Hunt had an excuse for everything she did.”
Hunt, he said, testified her threatening texts were “jokes” or indicated she didn’t remember because she blacked out or said, “’I didn’t do that.’”
Hunt’s friends, who received those texts, didn’t come to court to testify about those messages, Moore said.
In Grable’s first 911 call, Moore said, his client can be heard saying “please leave.”
Grable, he said, wasn’t being hateful.
“Jeremy Grable did not want a confrontation; he called 911,” Moore said. “After he made that call, Sheila Hunt goes ballistic.”
Moore said Grable had pushed Hunt away several times, and she pulled an object (her cellphone) that Grable believed to be a weapon.
“She wanted a confrontation,” he said. “She wanted something to happen,” but didn’t expect to get shot.
Moore said his client asked Hunt to leave.
“He called 911,” Moore said. “He used deadly force only when he thought it was reasonable.”
Proctor subsequently told the jury the only one who did anything wrong that night was Grable.
“Do you think it is right to lie to law enforcement,” Proctor said. “Do you think it is right to move a piece of evidence at the scene and delete information” from it.
“He was never afraid of Sheila Hunt,” said Proctor, who indicated Grable’s motivation was keeping Hunt from telling his wife about their relationship and preserving his job.
“He had a lot options” other than shooting Hunt, Proctor said.
On cross-examination, Proctor said, Grable had answered yes when asked whether he could have restrained Hunt, sat on her, held her down … easily could have fended her off without a weapon.
“The defendant did not act reasonably,” Proctor said.