Marshfield teen charged with second-degree murder

MARSHFIELD, Mo. — A teen from Marshfield has been charged with felony second-degree murder in Webster County.

According to online court dockets, a warrant has been issued for Alissa Rose Staples, born 2008, on charges of second-degree murder and felony armed criminal action.

The probable cause statement says the charges stem from an incident on June 28, 2023, when law enforcement were dispatched to a residence in Marshfield at 2:34 p.m. for a report of a male who'd been stabbed in the face and was "bleeding out."

Upon arrival at the scene, law enforcement observed a black male lying face down in the driveway, with a witness kneeling near the victim.

The witness told law enforcement that a female — who's not named in the statement, and is referred to as "Juvenile Suspect 1" throughout the document — and a male, who's also not named in the statement and is referred to as "Juvenile Suspect 2" — had stabbed the victim.

Law enforcement cleared the residence and were told by a witness that the juvenile suspects had fled through a window prior to their arrival. Emergency medical services arrived on scene and attempted lifesaving measures for the victim, but were unsuccessful, the statement says.

At 2:56 p.m., a Webster County Sheriff's Office deputy located both juvenile suspects and took them into custody.

The statement says law enforcement interviewed the female juvenile suspect in the presence of her father. The female juvenile said that she and the male juvenile suspect had been at her residence the day of the incident when the victim came to the house, and "they had an argument."

The female juvenile suspect said that the victim allegedly grabbed her by the neck and "they struggled." She said the male juvenile suspect threw a Crown Royal bottle at the victim, and then a larger alcohol bottle at him, according to the statement.

The female juvenile suspect told law enforcement she took a knife from the victim and cut him once on the front of one of his legs, per the statement.

Separately, the male juvenile suspect told law enforcement in an interview that the female juvenile suspect also stabbed the victim in the side or back "two times," the statement says.

Both juvenile suspects gave conflicting statements of what happened. The probable cause includes several accounts from witnesses at the residence, including one witness who said they saw the male juvenile "jabbing" the victim with a knife. Another witness said the victim did not attack either of the juvenile suspects, and never saw the victim with a knife in his hands.

A warrant has been issued for Staples' arrest, with a $2 million bond set with special conditions.

If convicted, Staples faces life in prison.