Stephen G. Dowd was killed on December 29, 2017, after a meeting at a Motel 6 on North Glenstone Avenue in Springfield that had been arranged for the purchase of a large quantity of methamphetamine. Dowd, 41, a forklift driver from Perryville described as fond of nature and music, travelled to Springfield with a friend, Ethan Barnett, who was with him in the motel room and later called 911.

Two men, identified as Tyson Lee Hamm and Andre Seth Smiles, arrived and the meeting turned into an attempted robbery. A physical struggle broke out and Dowd was shot while trying to disarm one of the men; the assailants fled the room along with Clayton and another woman, leaving Dowd mortally wounded.

Police tracked and arrested the suspects; Hamm later pleaded guilty to second-degree felony murder and received a 24-year sentence for that charge, plus a consecutive six-year term in a separate case. Does anyone have information about Dowd’s trip to Springfield that night or about witnesses who haven’t yet spoken to investigators?