Court documents reveal suspects in murders of couple from Willard area

U.S. Marshals arrested Tony and Windy Friend on drug and weapons charges

June 01, 2012|by Paula Morehouse, KY3 News | pmorehouse@ky3.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Court documents reveal names of two people considered suspects in the deaths of a couple from rural Greene County last year.

U.S. Marshals arrested Tony and Windy Friend on Wednesday at the home where they lived at 3155 W. Brower St., lot #10, in Springfield.

Both Tony Friend, 44, and Windy Friend, 31, were charged in Greene County associate circuit court with possessing methamphetamine. Tony Friend was also charged in U.S. District Court with being a felon in possession of a weapon. He is previously convicted for unlawful use of a weapon and domestic assault.

In a motion in federal court to hold the Friends in jail, a detective said Tony and Windy Friend are "targets" in the investigation of the homicides of Rebecca and Russell Porter, who disappeared from their home northeast of Willard in April 2011. The investigator wrote that Tony Friend threatened a deputy and the detective's family, as well as and federal and state judicial centers.

The bond requests for the cases in Greene County associate circuit court also indicate these aren't ordinary minor drug cases, as the severity of the charges would indicate. Prosecutors asked for a $250,000 bond for Tony Friend and a $100,000 bond for Windy Friend.

When deputies searched the home on Brower, they found drugs and illegal weapons. Officers found the home boarded up and doors installed with extra bolts.

"It was apparent that Tony L. Friend has taken substantial steps in fortifying his residence against an imminent extraction," wrote Greene County Deputy William Bayer.

The motion for detention filed in U.S. District court notes Tony Friend "has made threatening statements about blowing up a courthouse, and regarding Detective Sergeant Scott Britton of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department and his family. The defendant has also made threatening statements about actions he would take if law enforcement attempted to arrest him."

Officers also found modified paintball guns in the home with possible gun powder residue inside the barrels. Deputies found shotgun shells that fit inside the paintball gun barrels.

The bodies of Rebecca and Russell Porter were found in Taney County last July. Investigators say they were murdered by being shot in the head.

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott refused to talk about the information in the court documents.

"In reference to (the Greene County charges against) Tony L. Friend, and Windy D. Friend, information was stated that “Defendant is the primary suspect in the Porter homicide”. This case is an on-going investigation and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office cannot make a statement regarding any allegations or the continued investigation of this case, along with any information on Federal or State court records."

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