~UPDATED ~Landlord - Tenant Dispute Turns Deadly In Newton County; Suspect Charged With First Degree Murder:

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Danny Kay Thomas

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Authorities in Newton County are investigating a homicide near Stella.

Sheriff Ken Copeland says a dispute last night between a landlord and tenant at 19348 Route O ended with the landlord, 54 year-old Darrell Bone, of Pea Ridge, Arkansas being shot to death. 

Copeland says a friend of Danny Kay Thomas, 60, called them this morning to report a shooting.  When authorities arrived at the probation and parole office where the friend worked they questioned Thomas, who told investigators he shot Bone about 9 p.m. the previous evening (07-26-11.)
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Property where Darrel Bone was found murdered (courtesy KOAM)

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When officers went to the farmhouse they found Bone dead in the backyard.  Newton County Prosecutor Jake Skouby says Thomas told detectives Bone "was bangin' on his door and threatened to kill him." When Bone turned to leave Thomas said he went and got a gun and shot him in the back,,,and then "shot him twice in the face to finish him off."
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Thomas told investigators he then drove around in Bone's pickup truck, "thinking about what he had done."
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The truck and a rifle found inside the vehicle were recovered at the probation and parole office, according to Copeland.
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According to court documents, Bone went to the residence to inform Thomas he would be selling the property and Thomas would have to find somewhere else to live. Thomas shot Bone in the back with a rifle as he was walking away and then walked up and shot him in the face twice.
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Thomas has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.  Skouby says he will ask a judge that Thomas be held without bond.
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Southwest Missouri Forensics will conduct an autopsy tomorrow in Springfield.
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UPDATE 09-07-11:

Thomas waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was automaticall bound over for trial.

Teen Dies After Being Shot At Slumber Party In Neosho:

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland

Tragedy unfolded at a slumber party Monday night at a home near Neosho.

Sheriff Ken Copeland says the homeowner at 13911 Sunrise Drive had gotten a new holster for Christmas and had put a .38 caliber handgun he retrieved out of a gun safe in his new Christmas gift and then laid it on top of a piano.

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Copeland says four girls (all 14 year-old) who attend a Christian school in Joplin were attending the party when two girls found the weapon shortly before 9 p.m.  "One of the girls pointed the gun at Meggon G. Reppond'  head and pulled the trigger.  She told investigators that she didn't think the gun was loaded." 

Reppond was airlifted to a Joplin hospital and then transferred by an air ambulance to a Springfield hospital where she died after being taken off life support today.

The shooting remains under investigation by sheriff’s deputies and Newton County juvenile authorities, according to Copeland. "Based on the information so far, I don't believe the prosecutor is going to file charges against the homeowner.  It's a tragic situation, everybody is devastated"

~~DEVELOPING~~UPDATED~~Newton County Authorities Investigating Early Morning Homicide; Charges Filed:

Terry Michael Smith (mug shot NCSO)

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Authorities in Newton County are investigating an early morning homicide at 12331 Sorrel Road which is in the southwest part of the county, according to Sheriff's Detective Andy Pike.
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According to the probable cause statement, Richard and Buffy Burns had been with Terry Michael Smith, 36, Goodman, and had taken some wood to Richards' uncle.  Knowing that Smith didn't have a place to stay, the couple took him back to a home they shared with Smith's sister, Lisa, and her husband, 44 year-old Steven Todd Gunn.
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Smith told investigators that once he entered the trailer he "snapped" and started yelling down the hallway towards his sisters bedroom.  Once inside the room he told his sister "do you know how bad you are fu**ing up my life?"  

Smith says that Gunn jumped up and got in his face.  He (Smith) then  pulled a handgun from the pocket of his jeans.  As the two men struggled for the gun , "it went off," and Gun fell to the floor.  Smith says he then laid the gun on the bed.

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Buffy Burns told investigators that she, her husband (Richard) and Lisa Gunn went into the bathroom and called 9-1-1.  Buffy and Richard Burns then left the residence with Smith to take him to a hospital in Joplin to be treated for a hand injury but she made a wrong turn and ended up at Smith's fathers house in Anderson. 
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Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland

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Sheriff Ken Copeland says that after Smith was taken into custody he was  treated and released from  a hospital in Joplin for a hand injury and booked into the Newton County jail.
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Smith has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action and is jailed on a $100,000 cash only bond.