David Alan Stewart (Bates County Sheriff’s Office).
A Missouri man is now behind bars after law enforcement shifted their view of another man’s death from suicide to homicide.
David Alan Stewart, 40, stands accused of one count each of murder in the first degree and armed criminal action over the death of Jerry McLay, 48, according to Bates County authorities. In a separate county, he is facing three counts of receiving stolen property.
On Nov. 14, 2024, Bates County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call and found McLay dead at a residence in Rich Hill — a tiny former coal town located roughly 75 miles due south of Kansas City.
The deceased man was found on a couch inside, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Springfield-based CBS affiliate KOLR. The death was initially ruled a suicide but suspicious. Neither weapon nor shell casing were recovered from the scene of the crime, authorities say.
