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GALENA, Mo. -- The Stone County prosecuting attorney charged two women with first-degree murder on Tuesday for the death of a man from Christian County who disappeared in late February. Teri Dean and Cheryl Crawford were previously charged with tampering with evidence by cleaning up the blood of Carl Anderson of Highlandville at a home in eastern Stone County. Eugene Crider, who was also charged with tampering with evidence, is not yet charged for the murder.
Dean, also known as Teri Dean-Morrison, and Crawford made their first appearances in court on Tuesday morning on the murder charges. Associate Circuit Judge Alan Blankenship set their bonds at $1 million apiece and set their next court appearance for April 17, when a date for a preliminary hearing could be scheduled.
Detectives searched a home at 55 Kearney Lane near Reeds Spring twice -- March 19 and March 21, after getting search warrants. That's the home of Earl Kearney. The second search turned up Anderson's remains, leading to the murder charges. In the application for a search warrant, the sheriff's department said it might have to drain a pond on the propery.
Stone County Sheriff Richard Hill (pictured) made this announcement at a news conference on Tuesday morning:
I would like to give my condolences to the family of Carl Anderson and thank them for being patient during this investigation.
I would also like to acknowledge the following for their assistance in this investigation:
a. Christian County Sheriff’s Department
b. Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control
c. Missouri State Highway Patrol’s State Crime Lab, with special thanks to Jason Wyckoff
d. And a special acknowledgement to Detectives Shawn Fields and Matt Maggard and Capt. Tim Gideon of the Stone County Sheriff’s Department, who put in countless hours into this case.
Teri Dean and Cheryl Crawford were charged on Tuesday with first-degree murder for the death of Anderson. Investigation continues on Eugene Crider with the possibility of charges being filed against him at a later date.
The facts supporting these charges are as follows:
On Feb. 25, the Christian County Sheriff’s Department took a report of a missing person, identified as Carl Anderson. Carl was last seen at the home of Dean, Crider and Crawford, all living at 263 Akita Run, Stone County, Missouri on Feb. 23.
On March 6, Stone County detectives executed a search warrant at the home on Akita Run. During the execution of the warrant, a large amount of blood was found in several locations on the ceiling in the master bedroom.
The carpet flooring, exterior windows and the interior door in the master bedroom had recently been replaced. It was observed the ceiling had been cleaned and ceiling texture removed in an attempt to conceal the visibility of the blood stains. Samples of the blood were taken from various areas in the master bedroom, including the ceiling, ceiling fan housing and ceiling fan blades.
The blood samples were sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory for identification purposes (DNA). It was determined the blood belonged to Anderson.
On March 9, Dean, Crider and Crawford were arrested in Lake Ozark. At the time of their arrest, their cell phones were seized and later searched.
By examining the phone records and cross referencing the cell phone towers, it led detectives to a property on Kearney Lane just north of Highway OO in Stone County that belongs to Earl Kearney, a known associate of Dean. The phone records showed one or more of the three suspects spent a considerable amount of time at the property of Kearney on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 23 and Friday, Feb. 24.
A search warrant was applied for and obtained for the property of Kearney and the warrant was executed on March 19. Based on information from that search warrant and after doing further investigation, a second search warrant for the property was applied for and obtained. The second warrant was executed on March 21. During the second search warrant, human remains were located. Laboratory exams confirmed the remains were that of Carl Anderson.
Our investigation is still ongoing so we are not at liberty to answer any questions at this time.
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Editor's note: An earlier version of this report had an incorrect photo of Carl Anderson that was given to reporters by the Stone County Sheriff's Department. The department sent a correct photo and apologized to Brent Deputy, the man in the incorrect photo.