LEBANON, Missouri — A Mount Vernon lady accused of shooting her ex-son-in-law and his girlfriend over a custody dispute has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Beckie Lucille Stalder entered an Alford plea in July to four reduced second-degree assault counts and was sentenced in Laclede County Circuit Court on Wednesday, December 18. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but it acknowledges that the evidence would likely lead to a conviction.
Judge Kenneth Hayden sentenced Stalder to five years on each of four counts, to be served consecutively.
Stalder has been accused of shooting her ex-son-in-law and his girlfriend in Phillipsburg in 2019. Both victims survived. According to law enforcement, Stalder was dissatisfied with her grandchildren’s continuous custody arrangement.
The plea agreement reduced Stalder’s charges from two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action to four counts of second-degree assault.