Inside Room 149: Man told SGF police he saw quadruple homicide

A man was charged Monday with four counts of murder. He did it, prosecutors say, because he thought the victims were informing the police about his drug use.

Scott A. Goodwin-Bey, 47, has been charged in Greene County in connection to the Nov. 15 homicides at Economy Inn, 2555 N. Glenston Ave.

The documents show the police believe they found not only the killer — an ex-con with serious crimes in his past — but also the gun used in the shootings.

The documents say the man believed to be the gunman, making erratic statements and acting strangely, had simply handed the gun over to a convenience store clerk on Nov. 30. Goodwin-Bey has been in custody since that day.

Among the witnesses in the case, a man — identified in documents only as E.B. — told officers he saw what happened inside Room No. 149.

The source, according to the documents, said he was in the room when Goodwin-Bey shot the four victims, according to the documents.

He believed he would have been killed too, but he was able to flee the motel room, according to the documents.

E.B. said he ran to an area where he could still see the motel and saw Goodwin-Bey leave the motel room after the shooting and drive away in a Lincoln Town Car, according to the documents.

On Dec. 9, investigators spoke with E.B., who said he was concerned for his safety and was having difficulty coping with what he had witnessed, the documents say.

Early in the morning on Nov. 15, police found three dead bodies and a fourth person seriously injured after a woman — a friend of one of the victims — called 911.

Trevor Fantroy, 43, Lewis Green, 44, and Danielle Keyes, 29, were dead. Christopher Freeman, 24, died five days later.

Held on a weapons charge, Goodwin-Bey has been in custody since Nov. 30. The results of lab testing were not available until Feb. 4. Murder charges followed five days later.

According to court documents filed Monday, witnesses at the motel told a Springfield detective they saw a man who went by the nickname of "Auk" armed with a handgun on the night before the homicides were reported.

After further investigation, police later identified "Auk" as Goodwin-Bey.

On Nov. 28, Greene County deputies received a report from a Kum & Go in Fair Grove. According to that report, a man matching Goodwin-Bey's description was seen throwing several items in a trash can. He was also overheard, according to court documents, making a comment about having killed his girlfriend. One of the four victims in the motel room was a woman.

Officers later arrived at the Kum & Go, but the suspect had left the scene.

Two days later, police received another report at a Springfield convenience store, at 3905 W. Chestnut Expressway.

Employees at the store told police that a man, acting strange and erratic, had been in the business several times over the last two days, according to the documents.

One employee said the man, later identified by police as Goodwin-Bey, became upset before going to his car and retrieving a handgun, the documents say.

The employee said the man approached him with a gun in a non-threatening manner and handed it to the employee, according to the documents.

Goodwin-Bey allegedly asked for the gun back. The employee refused to return the gun and contacted police.

Officers confiscated the gun — a Ruger 9-millimeter that had been reported stolen from Ozark, according to the documents.

Investigators submitted to the crime lab 11 bullets and 13 casings found in the motel room and recovered from the victim's bodies, according to the documents.

Crime lab specialists were able to link several bullets and casings to the Ruger handgun, according to the documents.

Goodwin-Bey remains in the Greene County Jail without bond.

Prosecutors are seeking to charge Goodwin-Bey as a prior and persistent felony offender, which could lead to a harsher sentence if Goodwin-Bey is convicted.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Todd Myers. It is being investigated by Springfield police, with Detective Christopher Barb leading the investigation.

Goodwin-Bey's prior criminal history

•Oct. 16, 1992, in St. Louis, sentenced for possession of a controlled substance, unlawful use of a weapon, and resisting a felony arrest.

•Nov. 19, 1997, sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

•Dec. 19, 1997, in Greene County, sentenced for unlawful use of a weapon.

•Oct. 24, 2008, sentenced in federal court for unlawful possession/transport of a weapon.