Cassville man gets life sentence for stabbing of Andey Hunter

By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

A Cassville man charged with stabbing another man to death in June 2023 has accepted a plea deal in Polk County Circuit Court.

Richard Randolph, 32, of Cassville, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Per the agreement signed May 30, Randolph changed his plea to guilty for the second-degree murder charge, and the armed criminal was dismissed. The agreement also stipulated the guilty plea came with a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The sentence range for the offense is 10-30 years, and according to the Hunter family, with time served, Randolph’s will spend at least 22 years in prison.

According to a Cassville Police Department press release, on June 3, 2023, at approximately 8:34 p.m., police were dispatched to a call of a person in imminent danger. 

The caller, a juvenile male, indicated that one person had been stabbed and the suspect had chased him from the scene with a knife. The juvenile said a passerby picked him up and drove him to the Sheriff’s Office. 

The incident occurred at Miller Storage, located at 1200 Old Highway 37 in Cassville. 

Upon arrival, officers located the body of a deceased adult male, later identified as Hunter, with apparent wounds to the upper torso. 

Officers on scene were able to identify Randolph as a suspect and arrested him near the scene. 

According to a probable cause statement filed by former Det. Stuart Lombard, during a post-Miranda interview, Randolph allegedly admitted to knowingly causing the death of the victim. Three witnesses were also identified. 

This was the first alleged murder inside the city limits of Cassville since the stabbing death of Vicki Clark in 2011.