Lawson woman found dead in closet, suspect in custody: court docs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed that a woman was killed in Lawson, Missouri on Saturday night.

Patty Neary, 47, was found dead by the Lawson Police Department and MSHP at the 200 block of South Raum Road, court records said.

According to MSHP, around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Lawson PD reached out to MSHP’s Division of Drug and Crime Control for assistance on a homicide.

A probable cause statement was released on Monday morning that said Lawrence Patrick Neary IV was found and taken into custody at an ‘associate’s residence’ around 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning. He is currently being charged with first-degree murder.

The statement says that a person found the woman, Patty Neary, dead in a bedroom closet. According to the witness, she was initially believed to have been stabbed in the neck. The witness also said they received a call claiming that Patty and Lawrence Neary had been fighting all day.

According to a statement by Lawrence Neary, the two had been fighting, and he alleges it escalated to the point where Patty Neary grabbed a handgun from under a pillow on the couch and pointed it at him. He said this resulted in a physical fight that led into a bedroom where Patty had fallen backward into a closet.

Lawrence Neary claims he shot around the victim’s head about three times in an attempt to scare her. After the third shot, Patty Neary stopped talking, according to the suspect, and he left through a window, court documents said.

The suspect then realized he had forgotten his phone and re-entered the home. Upon entering, Lawrence Neary claimed he heard moaning and gurgling noises from the victim and in an attempt to wake her up, shot above her head.

Investigators say there is no evidence to support Lawrence Neary’s account of the shooting around the victim’s head since no bullets were found in the wall. However, evidence suggests Patty Neary was shot several times in the closet and that five shell casings were found near the body, according to the probable cause statement.

According to police, Lawrence Neary is still in custody. As more details come out about the investigation, FOX4 will continue to update this story.

Online court records indicate that Lawrence Neary will have his first court appearance on Tuesday morning in Ray County Circuit Court.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.