Man shoots girlfriend visiting him in the hospital, tells cops that 'the cameras say it all': Police

Background: Centerpoint Hospital in Independence, Mo. (Google Maps). Inset: James Lawson (Jackson County (Mo.) Sheriff's Office).

A Missouri man allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend when she came to visit him in the hospital, before telling police that security cameras would tell the whole story.

James F. Lawson, 39, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Jessica Cyrus, officials in Independence, Missouri, announced. Cyrus was found shot to death in Lawson's hospital room on Thursday.

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According to a criminal complaint and probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime, police responded to Centerpoint Hospital at around 9:30 a.m. Cyrus was there to visit Lawson, who had been admitted as a patient. But when officials arrived, Lawson had "reportedly left the hospital and was missing," the probable cause statement said.

Officials believe the shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Cyrus was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the chest in a reclining chair in Lawson's hospital room.

Lawson, who uses a motorized wheelchair, was later found at a nearby shopping center, officials say.

Hospital surveillance video captured the moments leading up to the shooting, according to police. At approximately 1:37 a.m., Lawson is allegedly seen on the video entering his room and shutting the door. Seconds later, the door swung back open, and the video purportedly shows Lawson in his wheelchair, facing the victim, who "appeared to be struggling to breathe," the statement said.

"Suspect was frantically messing with the right side of his pants and hip area," the probable cause statement noted. "A dark object was seen in his right hand."

No firearm or shell casings were found in the room, but police did discover a blanket with a small amount of blood discarded in a trash bin.

After Lawson was located at the nearby shopping center, he reportedly agreed to speak with police after being read his Miranda rights. He allegedly said that his memory of the events in the room was "fuzzy," and attributed his confusion to medication and a "severe urinary tract infection that he claimed caused delirium."

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"However," the probable cause statement notes, "Lawson made cryptic remarks during questioning, telling investigators, 'Maybe if you guys got cameras you seen … what happened.'"

"The cameras say it all," Lawson allegedly told investigators.

Officers found a holster, a box of 9 mm Magtech ammunition and a loose 9 mm round hidden in a compartment beneath the seat of the motorized wheelchair, according to the probable cause statement. Lawson allegedly told police that the ammunition had been under his seat for a long time and that he intended to resell it.

Jail records show that Lawson is in custody at the Jackson County Detention Center on a $250,000 cash-only bond.

In addition to murder, Lawson has been charged with armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Court records show Lawson has a lengthy criminal history, including a 2008 felony conviction in Clay County for escaping from custody.

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Source: Crime