On the evening of January 23, 2020, 66-year-old John D. Colter was killed in Fenton, Missouri while intervening to protect his daughter from an armed intruder. Colter was at his daughter Kristine Kempf’s home; Kristine had recently separated from her husband, 45-year-old James Kempf, and held an order of protection.

After the killing, James Kempf fled and was the subject of a multi-agency manhunt that used drones and canine teams and extended into neighboring states. Prosecutors charged Kempf in absentia with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and multiple counts of armed criminal action. Law enforcement located him on January 31, 2020, in rural northwest Arkansas, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before he could be taken into custody. Colter was later recognized posthumously with the Carnegie Medal for his actions.

Did anyone in the Fenton area witness the events that night or have information about the days leading up to the attack?