Grand Jury Indicts Man In 2017 Murder Near Fordland

A Douglas County grand jury has charged Howard J. Applegate with first-degree murder more than five years after a man was shot and killed close to Fordland.

The 28-year-old Ava citizen is also facing felony charges of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, concealment, and endangering welfare. Following Lance Terrill’s death in October 2017—34, whose body was discovered outside a mobile home near Highway Z around midnight—
When the police arrived, there were apparently two kids inside the mobile home, and the house had numerous bullet holes. The suspect perhaps had fled the condition, according to initial reports from 2017.

Applegate has been incarcerated in Douglas County for a number of criminal charges, including first-degree rape, burglary, and tampering with physical evidence, prior to his indictment for the alleged murder of Terrill, a resident of Seymour.

No additional information about the incarceration related to a possible cause or prior relationship was made public.

The Webster County and Christian County sheriff’s offices, according to Douglas County Deputy Chris Degase, were among the nearby law enforcement organizations that helped put the case together and offer sufficient proof for an accusation. “All three agencies have put in plenty of man hours over the course of a long period of time.” This arrest was made possible thanks to the close collaboration with the local officers, according to DeGase. ” I am aware that these accusations won’t result in Lance’s return, but hopefully they will bring some justice and closure to his family.”