Murder charges re-filed against Springfield man in connection with 2011 shooting death

Charges have been re-filed against a Springfield man in connection with the shooting death of a woman at a north Springfield hotel in 2011.

Terry D. Morrison, 53, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney's office said in a news release.

Morrison was originally charged in September 2011 in connection with the death of Pristina Tyner earlier that month. However, the charges were dismissed that December. In the Wednesday release, prosecutors attributed the move to the fact that a key witness gave "ambiguous testimony" in a preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors said Wednesday the re-filing of charges was made possible "by the continued investigative efforts of the Springfield Police Department."

Prosecutors said the witness who exhibited "equivocation" at the initial preliminary hearing has since said it "was due to fear for her family's wellbeing, not to any difficulty recognizing Morrison as the man she saw pull a gun on Ms. Tyner the night she was killed."

Prosecutors also said Wednesday that two other eyewitnesses were located after the preliminary hearing. Those witnesses, prosecutors said, drove with Morris to the motel at the time of the murder and saw him go to the second floor of the motel. They subsequently heard a "pop" or a "pow pow," prosecutors said, and saw Morrison return to the car with a gun.

A judge has ordered Morrison held without bond. He faces a potential sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted, according to the release.

According to a probable cause statement completed by Springfield police this month, officers were dispatched to the Homestay Inn at 2611 N. Glenstone at approximately 11:06 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2011, in reference to a possible gunshot.

An officer located Tyner bleeding from her head near a stairwell, according to the statement. She was taken to Mercy Springfield hospital; police were notified two days later that she had died.

A female witness, Christine Casper, said she had been staying in a room with Tyner and that they were expecting someone to visit them in the room, according to the statement. Casper said a black male knocked on the door and entered when Tyner opened the door.

Casper said the male pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Tyner, according to the statement. Casper said she ran out of the room and heard a gunshot moments later, according to the statement.

During a search of the room, officers located a piece of paper with a phone number belonging to Terry Morrison written on it, according to the statement. Police also obtained surveillance video from hotel management.

In September 2011, Morrison confirmed he knew Tyner and said he was supposed to meet her at the hotel earlier in the evening, but that he had not gone, according to the statement.