HIGH RIDGE, Mo. (TCN) — Deputies arrested a 61-year-old man they allege fatally shot his son during an argument on Christmas Eve over the belief that the victim’s mother was cheating on the suspect.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Harold Luster “retrieved a firearm from the residence and threatened another person before allegedly shooting his son” in the middle of a disagreement. Luster was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the death of his 26-year-old son, Kevin Ward. He is in custody without bond.
According to Luster’s probable cause affidavit, on Dec. 24 at 8:55 p.m., Ward’s fiancée called 911 and said he had been shot in the forehead. Deputies arrived and found Ward deceased with a apparent gunshot wound to the head.
The fiancée told deputies that Luster thought Ward’s mother was cheating on him, and he believed the fiancée was covering it up. Luster, who, was inside his house, allegedly asked the fiancée, “Do you want to get shot?” Ward told his fiancée to give him a knife and call 911 if anything happened to him. The fiancée was sitting in her car and moved away from the house.
Luster reportedly walked out of his home as Ward “attempted to deescalate the incident.” Ward reportedly told his father not to shoot his fiancée, but Luster allegedly responded, “You wanna get shot instead?” The fiancée reportedly saw Luster raise his arm and fire at Ward, who fell to the ground. Surveillance footage from the home across the street allegedly showed the same sequence of events.
KTVI-TV reports Ward’s fiancée is pregnant, and Ward was “so happy to be a first-time father.” Ward’s mother told KTVI that her son “died a hero that night.”
She said, “I will be at every hearing to make sure justice is served. He’s going to be forever in our hearts.”
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