Medical experts testify in case against former MSU instructor charged for murdering colleague

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Medical experts testified on Wednesday in the murder trial for former Missouri State University instructor Edward Gutting.

Prosecutors accuse Gutting of breaking into retired professor Marc Cooper’s Springfield home in August of 2016 and stabbing him to death. Gutting is also charged with attacking Cooper’s wife when she tried to stop him. On Monday, a judge started hearing the case against Gutting.

A forensic expert with the Missouri State Highway Patrol testified Gutting’s blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, a few hours after his arrest was well over the legal limit at .15. The second witness called to the stand was the medical examiner. Dr. Peter Duff confirms Cooper’s stab wounds to his neck and torso killed him, though he had numerous other cuts and wounds all over his body.

According to online court records, in 2019, Gutting was deemed incompetent and lacked the mental fitness to stand trial. But in 2020, his case was cleared to proceed. Gutting pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. A judge will decide the case after the trial.

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