Auxvasse man indicted on charges from deadly 2013 assault

An Auxvasse man was formally indicted Thursday on murder and assault charges stemming from a 2013 attack that left a father in critical condition and a son dead.

According to online records at Missouri Case.net, Jake O. Gastler, 23, was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault for allegedly assaulting two of his neighbors during an argument, killing one.

Gastler has an arraignment hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 24 in the Callaway County Courthouse.

The Fulton Sun reported in August that Gastler had been arrested in connection with an attack on Zachery W. O'Conner, and his father, Michael W. O'Conner, at a residence on Blue Ridge Road east of Auxvasse. Deputies from the Callaway County Sheriff's Office reported that Gastler called to report two of his neighbors lying on the ground covered in blood. Zachery O'Conner was found dead and Michael O'Conner was transported by helicopter to University Hospital in Columbia.

Sheriff Dennis Crane told the Fulton Sun at the time of the arrest that Gastler told authorities he found his neighbors in that condition, but Gastler's story was allegedly inconsistent with evidence found at the scene. Gastler later allegedly admitted to officers he assaulted the O'Conners after an argument escalated, authorities told the Fulton Sun in September.