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Background: The Ripley County Detention Center in Doniphan, Mo. (Google Maps). Inset: Dustin D. Manns (Ripley County Detention Center).
Dustin D. Manns, age 44, faces charges of first-degree murder for the death of his 71-year-old father, Robert Manns. Authorities discovered Robert’s body in his home on Monday, as detailed in a probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime. The incident came to light after Robert’s sister found him deceased in his bedroom, having grown concerned due to a lack of contact since April 11.
The affidavit reveals that upon arrival at her brother’s residence, Robert’s sister found the front door ajar. Officers from the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office were informed by her that Robert’s silver Dodge Ram was absent from the premises, and efforts to reach Dustin Manns by phone proved unsuccessful.
Investigators from the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control eventually tracked down the Dodge Ram in Butler County, where Dustin Manns was also located. He was subsequently detained and escorted back to the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
During his police interview, Dustin Manns allegedly confessed to the murder, admitting he attacked his father with a fishing spear, then struck him with the handle before suffocating him to death. The fishing spear was found at the crime scene alongside Robert Manns’ body.
During an interview with police, Dustin Manns allegedly admitted to “stabbing his father [with] a fish gig,” or a fishing spear, then “striking him across the chest with the handle” and “asphyxiating him until he was dead.” The fishing spear was located at the scene where Robert Manns’ body was found.
A motive for the alleged killing was not shared in the probable cause statement.
Manns was booked into the Ripley County Detention Center where he is being held without bond. He was charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse, stealing a motor vehicle, and tampering with a motor vehicle. His next court date was not available.
