NEWS

Mother turns in son after Fair Grove killing, documents say

Harrison Keegan
HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Carlton Wallace

A man was charged with murder Tuesday in connection with a fatal shooting Monday afternoon at a home on East Farm Road 48 in Fair Grove.

Carlton A. Wallace, 37, was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action after authorities say he shot his girlfriend to death and then fled the scene before investigators arrived.

A man has been charged with murder in connection with a homicide Monday in Fair Grove.

The Greene County Sheriff's Office says Wallace was arrested at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Glenstone Avenue in Springfield two hours after killing 26-year-old Lindsay Arnold in Fair Grove.

According to a probable cause statement, Wallace's mother called 911 a little before 1 p.m. Monday to report that Wallace had hurt someone and then fled the scene in her Hyundai Elantra.

When deputies arrived at the property, they entered an outbuilding on the property where Wallace and his girlfriend were staying. Deputies found Arnold dead under a blanket with red foam around her mouth and a gunshot wound to the back of her head, according to the statement.

Wallace's mother told investigators Wallace came to her at about 12:15 p.m. Monday and said he was ready to go to town. When Wallace's mother asked him where Arnold was, he allegedly replied, "It's all over, she is with the angels now."

Wallace's mother went to the outbuilding and asked to see Arnold, but Wallace would not let her inside, according to the statement.

Wallace's mother called 911, and Wallace took the keys to the Hyundai and left the property, the statement says. He allegedly said "It's all in God's hands now," before he sped away from the home.

Officers with the Springfield Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested Wallace outside of the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Springfield at about 2:45 p.m. Monday, the statement says.

He was allegedly sitting in the driver's seat of the Hyundai with a BB gun and a bloody towel.

Wallace's mother told police Wallace and Arnold have an extensive history of domestic violence and she had called authorities to the property numerous times, according to the statement.

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott said in a news release Tuesday that deputies have responded to the residence several times in the past for various calls including domestic disturbances.

Arnott said a 6-year-old girl who was living in the home with Wallace and Arnold has been taken into protective custody.

An autopsy was conducted Tuesday morning, and the investigation is ongoing, according to Arnott.

Court documents say Wallace is a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a gun. He has prior convictions for larceny and armed robbery.

Wallace is being held in the Greene County Jail on $500,000 bond. He does not have an attorney listed for this case.