Son arrested after parents found dead
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
November 19, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/111915_PS_MO_Murders
A Missouri man was arrested and accused of murder after the bodies of his parents were found washed up on the banks of the Mississippi River in Missouri.
Thomas Wayne McRoy, 37, was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. He was arrested Tuesday night after the body of his father, Larry McRoy, 64, was found near Dorena, Missouri.
His mother, Roxann McRoy, 62, was found around 9 a.m. Wednesday near the Dorena-Hickman Ferry.
The family lived in Miner, Missouri, a town of about 972 people about 40 miles south of Cape Girardeau.
Miner Police Chief Chris Griggs said an investigation into the couple's whereabouts was initiated Tuesday after the department received a phone call from a concerned family member who lives in St. Louis.
"We got a call from their son in St. Louis asking if we would check on (the McRoys)," Griggs said.
The son told police he had been trying to call the family's home without any answer, which was unusual. When officers arrived at the home, Griggs said they noted a black jeep outside the home.
Thomas McRoy met the officers at the door, Griggs said, and told them his parents had left with friends.
At that time, the chief said, officers had no reason to be suspicious of the son.
"(McRoy) was very cooperative," he said. "He let the officer in to search and provided no obstruction ... At the time the officer was there, he didn't feel uncomfortable, he didn't notice anything that was out of place, there was nothing at that time that would draw suspicion."
Officers returned to the home about an hour later and noticed the Jeep was gone and McRoy was nowhere to be found.
During their investigation, police found blood on the door and in the bed of Larry McRoy's white pickup truck, which was also parked at the house. A loaded 12 gauge shotgun was found in the back of the truck.
Inside the house, police said, they found a large amount of blood, a bone fragment and a bullet fragment.
At that point, Griggs said he activated the Major Case Squad.
While at the house, police were notified that a man's body, later identified as that of Larry McRoy, had washed up near Dorena.
McRoy was arrested hours later in Carter County, about an hour and a half outside Miner, after a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper recognized the black Jeep and made a traffic stop. Griggs said the family owned a cabin in Carter County and that's where McRoy was headed.
During the stop, troopers said McRoy allegedly admitted to shooting his parents with a .22 caliber rifle in the living room at their home.
McRoy is being held at the Scott County Jail on a $200,000 cash-only bond.
Griggs confirmed the couple appeared to have been shot before they went into the water. Roxann McRoy had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the face and Larry McRoy had apparently been shot in the back of the head.
Mississippi County Coroner Terry A. Parker has ordered autopsies to be done today in Farmington, Missouri. Preliminary findings as to the exact cause of death should be available by late afternoon, he said.
"There is no known motive to us at this point," Griggs said. "We believe there were some family issues over the years that (Thomas McRoy) was having trouble with, but to speak on that directly right now is probably not a good idea as it is still under investigation."
The chief described the Miner community as tight knit, adding the McRoys were well-known and respected.
"They've been here for years, they were both retired. Mr. McRoy, years ago, he used to coach little league baseball, so they've been in the community for a while, and they were really good people."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Thomas Wayne McRoy, 37, was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. He was arrested Tuesday night after the body of his father, Larry McRoy, 64, was found near Dorena, Missouri.
His mother, Roxann McRoy, 62, was found around 9 a.m. Wednesday near the Dorena-Hickman Ferry.
The family lived in Miner, Missouri, a town of about 972 people about 40 miles south of Cape Girardeau.
Miner Police Chief Chris Griggs said an investigation into the couple's whereabouts was initiated Tuesday after the department received a phone call from a concerned family member who lives in St. Louis.
"We got a call from their son in St. Louis asking if we would check on (the McRoys)," Griggs said.
The son told police he had been trying to call the family's home without any answer, which was unusual. When officers arrived at the home, Griggs said they noted a black jeep outside the home.
Thomas McRoy met the officers at the door, Griggs said, and told them his parents had left with friends.
At that time, the chief said, officers had no reason to be suspicious of the son.
"(McRoy) was very cooperative," he said. "He let the officer in to search and provided no obstruction ... At the time the officer was there, he didn't feel uncomfortable, he didn't notice anything that was out of place, there was nothing at that time that would draw suspicion."
Officers returned to the home about an hour later and noticed the Jeep was gone and McRoy was nowhere to be found.
During their investigation, police found blood on the door and in the bed of Larry McRoy's white pickup truck, which was also parked at the house. A loaded 12 gauge shotgun was found in the back of the truck.
Inside the house, police said, they found a large amount of blood, a bone fragment and a bullet fragment.
At that point, Griggs said he activated the Major Case Squad.
While at the house, police were notified that a man's body, later identified as that of Larry McRoy, had washed up near Dorena.
McRoy was arrested hours later in Carter County, about an hour and a half outside Miner, after a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper recognized the black Jeep and made a traffic stop. Griggs said the family owned a cabin in Carter County and that's where McRoy was headed.
During the stop, troopers said McRoy allegedly admitted to shooting his parents with a .22 caliber rifle in the living room at their home.
McRoy is being held at the Scott County Jail on a $200,000 cash-only bond.
Griggs confirmed the couple appeared to have been shot before they went into the water. Roxann McRoy had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the face and Larry McRoy had apparently been shot in the back of the head.
Mississippi County Coroner Terry A. Parker has ordered autopsies to be done today in Farmington, Missouri. Preliminary findings as to the exact cause of death should be available by late afternoon, he said.
"There is no known motive to us at this point," Griggs said. "We believe there were some family issues over the years that (Thomas McRoy) was having trouble with, but to speak on that directly right now is probably not a good idea as it is still under investigation."
The chief described the Miner community as tight knit, adding the McRoys were well-known and respected.
"They've been here for years, they were both retired. Mr. McRoy, years ago, he used to coach little league baseball, so they've been in the community for a while, and they were really good people."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
