A Jefferson County jury has found 61-year-old Harold Luster guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Christmas Eve 2024 shooting death of his 26-year-old son, Kevin Ward, inside a home in High Ridge. The three-day jury trial concluded Thursday, and Luster is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Travis Partney in Jefferson County on December 16, 2026.
According to charging documents reported by Crime Online, the shooting unfolded in the 6400 block of Highway PP after Luster became irate over an alleged extramarital affair involving his wife and accused his son's pregnant fiancée of concealing the infidelity. Luster reportedly confronted the fiancée before retrieving a gun, per the same charging documents. As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, whose story on the verdict was written by Colleen Schrappen, Ward was shot and killed by his father in High Ridge, Missouri.
Surveillance Video Captured the Fatal Moment
Surveillance camera footage from a neighboring home captured the shooting itself, showing Luster raise his arm before a visible muzzle flash occurred and Ward collapsed to the ground, according to a probable cause statement detailed by Crime Online. That footage became critical physical evidence for prosecutors seeking to establish deliberation, a required element for a first-degree murder conviction under Missouri law.
Charging documents relayed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch describe Ward's final actions before he was shot. He told his pregnant fiancée to run and call 911, then stepped between her and his father, asking, “You're not going to shoot her.” Luster allegedly replied, “You wanna get shot instead?” immediately before firing.
Deputies Responded to a 911 Call on Christmas Eve Night
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene at 8:55 p.m. on Christmas Eve after Ward's fiancée made an emergency 911 call reporting that he had been shot in the head, according to KSDK-TV. Ward's family said he was loved by many and that his family is grieving, per the Post-Dispatch's reporting on the verdict.
Ward was a graduate of Hancock High School and worked as a maintenance worker for the Missouri Department of Transportation while preparing for the arrival of his first child, according to the Post-Dispatch. His family described him to the outlet as the family's go-to support system.
Mandatory Sentence Awaits Under Missouri Law
Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 565.020, first-degree murder is a Class A felony carrying a mandatory sentence of either the death penalty or life imprisonment without eligibility for probation or parole for adult offenders, according to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Luster's armed criminal action conviction adds a mandatory minimum of three years in prison for a first offense, to be served consecutively and without eligibility for probation or parole during that time, per Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.015.
Judge Travis Partney, who will hand down the sentence in December, was appointed to the 23rd Judicial Circuit bench in November 2022 by Governor Mike Parson after previously serving as first assistant prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County, according to Ozark Radio News. He had also served as an associate judge and prosecutor in the county before his appointment.
A Rare Spike in Jefferson County Homicides
The shooting occurred during a year in which the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office recorded seven homicides, up from just one in 2023, even as overall violent crime categories in the county generally decreased, per a preliminary crime report the office released in January 2025. High Ridge is an unincorporated community in northern Jefferson County roughly 30 miles southwest of St. Louis, where primary law enforcement jurisdiction rests with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office rather than a local police department, as Hoodline has previously reported.
