Matthew Dedmon, the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church, is accused of killing Joe Newburn after spotting him in a car with his spouse.
An Ozarks Baptist preacher who had been jailed for two years for allegedly killing his wife’s boyfriend was released on a $30,000 bail.
On May 28, 2022, Matthew Dedmon, now 49, reportedly saw Joe Newburn, 57, and his wife in a vehicle outside the Iguana Roja Restaurante in the Ozark Courthouse Square Historic District. Dedmon then reportedly shot Newburn many times in the chest. According to the site, Dedmon accused Newburn of having an affair with his wife.
According to a Facebook post by the Ozark Police Department, Newburn passed away the next day at Cox South Hospital.
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The pastor of Heritage Baptist Church faces charges of armed criminal action and first-degree murder. He had been detained without bail for two years.
Judge Laura Johnson stated in a September 2022 letter that releasing Dedmon on bail would place the public in “grave danger.”
According to the evidence, the victim died when the defendant’s loaded revolver went off three or four times on the plaza in Ozark, just outside a crowded restaurant. This seriously endangered everyone in the square,” Johnson said in her ruling, which Law & Crime was able to receive. “There was evidence that this conduct was out of character for Defendant, which causes concern about Defendant’s decision-making and judgment.”
“The seriousness of the charge increases the risk that Defendant will not appear,” she said. “For these reasons, the Court will detain Defendant without bond.”
The state prosecutors and Dedmon’s lawyers engaged in a two-year court battle over discovery and a “motion to endorse” witnesses.
On October 1, however, the judge gave Dedmon a $30,000 bail with the condition that he continue to be under house arrest and wear a GPS tracking device.
Dedmon’s defense team claimed in a defense petition that the state’s inaction in endorsing witnesses had violated their client’s rights under the Missouri constitution. The client was seeking his release on bail.
“It has been more than two years since this case was filed. During that period, the defendant’s attorney has worked hard to prepare the case for trial. The State filed its move to endorse, [redacted], just as the Defendant’s Counsel thought the depositions were over (she had deposed all endorsed witnesses) and the case was at last ready to go to trial, according to the filing.
“This move to endorse is strongly opposed by the Defendant. But in the event that the State’s move to endorse is granted, either in full or in part, the Defendant argues that he should be released on bond because of the State’s unacceptable practice of issuing endorsements after the fact, which, if accepted, will inevitably result in a protracted postponement of the Defendant’s trial.”
Kristen Tuohy, the prosecuting attorney for Christian County, was not immediately available for comment.
Records from Christian County Jail showed no indication that the pastor had been freed as of Wednesday morning. We were unable to get in touch with his lawyer right away for comment.
According to his online obituary, Newburn, the shooting victim, had “always been the guy next door that everyone wanted to know,” could “build a bike better than Schwinn,” and could “build a hot rod as if he would be in Nascar someday.” He leaves behind two sons and a “host of grandkids.”
Ozarks First reports that Dedmon’s murder trial is set to start on March 3.
