Investigations are ongoing after a double homicide and car chase left one man in the hospital and three others dead. Late Saturday evening Boone County Sheriffs were called to Santa Anna Drive by witnesses who heard several gunshots fired. The suspect was 28 year old Cornelius Parker, who was seen fleeing the scene where he headed west down Highway WW when deputies spotted him and began a chase.
Deputy Tom O’Sullivan said Willie Mays, 44, is not in good condition after he took a gunshot to the head. Deborah Koontz, 53, and her brother Donald Wilson, 51, were shot and pronounced dead at the scene. All three victims and Parker lived in the duplex on Santa Anna Drive. The shooting is currently under investigation by the Sheriff’s Department and there is no known motive O’Sullivan said.
“We’re still talking to friends, family and associates of the victims to try to determine a motive for this incident,” O’Sullivan said. “Right now we don’t have one identified.”
The Missouri Highway State Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control is investigating the shooting of Parker by a deputy. The double homicide lead up to a trail of events that included a car chase and ended in gunfire on the outskirts of Columbia. After Parker fled the scene, he attempted to turn onto U.S. Highway 63 when he lost control of his vehicle. Parker proceeded to exit the car and fire gunshots at the deputies who then fired back.
Sgt. Kevin Hunter said this shooting is being treated as a separate incident from the double homicide that Parker was involved in before the pursuit.
“Late Saturday night, early Sunday morning, as a result of a short vehicle pursuit a suspect exchanged gun fire with a Boone County Deputy,” Hunter said. “That gun fire resulted in the death of the suspect.”
The unnamed deputy who shot the suspect is an Enforcement Sgt. He has more than 11 years of experience in law enforcement and is a firearms instructor.