Frank Merrifield, a resident of Clinton, Missouri, was killed during a visit by three fugitives who had been traveling together after stealing a van: Robert Wesley Knighton, Lawrence Lingle Brittain, and Ruth Renee Williams. Merrifield had been drinking with a friend, Ray Donahue, and invited Knighton to test-fire a pearl-handled .22 caliber pistol. Knighton shot Donahue in the back of the head and then shot and killed Merrifield. The trio took cash and weapons from the house, including the .22 used in the killings and another handgun later used in further crimes.

Those deaths were one link in a cross-state flight that continued into Oklahoma, where the group allegedly committed additional murders. The fugitives were stopped in Canadian, Texas, after a local resident reported a suspicious vehicle; a deputy’s traffic stop led to Knighton’s arrest when two pistols were seen and his statements proved inconsistent. Knighton was later prosecuted for Oklahoma murders; Brittain and Williams pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, with Brittain receiving life imprisonment and Williams receiving two 15-year terms for accessory-after-the-fact. Did anyone in Clinton know Merrifield or Donahue and see the stolen van or the three travelers before the killings?