On June 17, 2025, Henry County deputies responded shortly before noon to a shooting at a rural residence in the 700 block of SE 1251 Private Road in the Finey area near Deepwater, Missouri. Inside the home deputies found 54-year-old Jody James deceased in the dining room with multiple gunshot wounds to her back, shoulder, and neck. The house was secured as a crime scene and an investigation began.

The primary suspect was 75-year-old Harold David James, who lived with the victim and was described as her significant other. He fled the scene in a silver Ford pickup but was located and arrested without incident less than an hour later in the Berry Bend area. Witnesses said he stopped at a friend’s house beforehand and admitted he had messed up, leaving the dog and a Glock Model 43 with that friend.

Harold James gave conflicting accounts, at one point claiming a property dispute and that the victim had assaulted him, and later saying he shot Jody James because he believed she was retrieving a weapon. Officers found no injuries on him consistent with an assault and no firearm was found near the victim to support the self-defense claim.

Does anyone have information about the Finey area residence, the silver Ford pickup, or contacts who might have seen the couple that morning?