3 charged with murder of Simon

Three people are in custody and facing charges in the death of a Bois D’Arc man. Riley Collier, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Stanley Simon II, while his girlfriend, Patricia Davis, 17, and another man, Michael Stauffer, 40, are charged with second-degree murder.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, Greene County deputy sheriffs went to Simon’s residence to conduct a well-being check on Tuesday, Oct. 20, where they found him dead. An autopsy of Simon the next day showed his cause of death as a gunshot to the upper chest and neck. The death was ruled a homicide.
The deputies processed the scene and found two spent .223 caliber shell casings. The residence had been ransacked,
 and Simon’s vehicle, a 2004 Chevrolet 3500 dually truck, was stolen. Detectives conducted a walkthrough of the residence with Simon’s son, who reported multiple firearms and several other things were missing.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, Simon’s truck was seen in Springfield at National and Kearney. Springfield Police tried to stop the truck, but the driver evaded police and fled eastbound on Kearney. The truck was later found abandoned. Detectives processed the truck and found a Visa debit card issued to Collier. Six hours later, they learned that Collier and Davis had been taken into custody in Webster County in an unrelated incident.
Collier admits to driving victim’s truck
In a post-Miranda interview in Webster County, Collier admitted to being the one driving Simon’s truck. He said he’d been followed by a Springfield Police officer in the area of Kearney and Kansas Expressway, and had driven north on Glenstone Ave. and tried to “get away without causing issues.” After abandoning the vehicle, Collier said he “took off through the woods.” He also said he’d taken drugs recently and had caused “any drama happening in Springfield right now.”
Detective executed a search warrant on Davis’ residence and searched a vehicle, where they recovered several items with Collier’s name on them. They also recovered a numbered list written on an envelope. Items on the list included, “Hit for guns,” “Pick up truck,” “Grab Dually” and “Stash them in Conservation.” They also executed a search warrant on Collier’s residence, where they found an empty box of ammunition and seven rounds of the same ammunition found at the scene of the crime on Oct. 20.
Detectives also spoke with Davis’s father, who said she had left with Collier on Oct. 18. He said she returned on Oct. 22 to get some cash from her bedroom, which she said was to get a COVID-19 test for Collier. He also said he’d been contacted by Davis after she and Collier were involved in a motor vehicle collision in Reeds Springs, in Collier’s white GMC truck. Davis’s father said he believed the truck was in a tow lot in Stone County.
Incriminating evidence on cell phone
Davis’s cellphone was seized under warrant; a forensic search on the phone found an electronic note with a list of firearms and prices; the firearms listed were similar to the ones stolen from Stanley’s residence. Two pictures of Stanley were also found on the phone.
It was also determined that Davis was in contact with Stauffer, and messages were shared between her cell phone and his in the early morning hours of Oct. 20.
Victim’s wallet found on suspect
Detectives executed a search on Collier’s truck on Sunday, Oct. 25, where they found several rifles and shotguns matching the description of firearms stolen from Simon’s residence disassembled in the back-passenger compartment, along with Simon’s wallet and driver’s license. Also found was an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 loaded with the same brand of rounds found at the crime scene, a receipt for a hotel in Republic and a handwritten list that read, “Brass catcher,” “clean and wipe guns,” “Get bags prepped,” “finish cans,” “wipe zip ties,” “wipe everything” and “plan pictures, maps everything.”
Probable cause statement
According to the probable cause statement, detectives interviewed a Gabrielle Stein, who was staying with Stauffer at a hotel (Stein is not charged with any crimes). She said Collier and Davis had come to her and Stauffer’s hotel room on Monday, Oct. 19, where Stauffer and Collier had discussed “having some places to check out.” While they were there, she said, Davis put on an ankle holster containing a revolver pistol. She also said that Stauffer, Davis and Collier all left at about 10 p.m. that night in Collier’s truck.
At 2 a.m. on Oct. 20, Stein called Stauffer and asked where he was; Stauffer said he was at Hood’s Truck Stop and had been waiting there for three hours on Collier and Davis, adding he was worried he was drawing attention to himself.
Afterwards, Stauffer received a phone call from Collier; he drove Collier’s truck to meet him at a location around northwest Springfield. Stein said Collier was driving Simon’s truck and Davis was with him. From there, they followed one another down backroads to a property owned by Davis’s father in Galena.
While at the location, according to the probable cause statement, Collier told Stein about the murder and said, “Yeah, I killed him.” He also said that when he shot Simon, that Simon “squirmed a little bit,” at which point Davis laughed and said, “He’s not squirming no more.” Davis also told Stein that she’d earned her “Bonnie tattoo” (believed to be a reference to Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde).
At the Galena location, Stauffer loaded property from Simon’s truck into Collier’s; Collier and Stauffer later loaded the property into a storage unit in Republic. The property loaded into the storage unit included a dirt bike and two chainsaws. Simon’s son reported a dirt bike and two chainsaws were among the items taken from the residence.
Suspects facing more charges
In addition to the charge of first-degree murder, Collier faces charges of armed criminal action, first-degree burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.
Davis and Stauffer also face charges of Second-Degree Burglary.
In August of 2019, Collier pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to two six-year prison terms and six four-year prison terms, all to be served concurrently. According to information provided by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Collier was transported to the Missouri Department of Corrections on Jan. 2 of this year and released on parole four months later.
“This is yet another example of an offender being released early from prison, only to reoffend five months later,” Sheriff Jim Arnott stated on the GCSO’s Facebook page. “A man died as a result, and a family is forever broken. We must and can do better in our evaluations of offenders being released; this is exactly what myself and other sheriffs have been advocating for, and for the Simon family we have to continue to address this issue with the Department of Corrections.”
Collier, Davis arrest
Collier, who was taken into custody in Webster County on Oct. 24, was booked into the Greene County Jail on Friday, Oct. 30. Davis, who was taken into custody with him, was booked into the Greene County Jail on Thursday, Oct. 29.
Collier and Davis face additional charges in Webster County. Collier faces charges of second-degree assault, vehicle hijacking, stealing and two counts of resisting arrest. Davis faces charges of being an assessor to vehicle hijacking, stealing and resisting arrest. The charges against them were dismissed temporarily so they could be taken to Greene County for the murder charges. Ben Berkstresser, Webster County Prosecuting Attorney, said he refiled the charges on Monday, Nov. 2. The Greene County Commonwealth will provide more information on those charges in its next issue.