Teresa Stone Case: Affair, Murder Plot, and Sentence

The Teresa Stone case is a Missouri conspiracy-to-commit-murder prosecution arising from the March 31, 2010 shooting of Randy Stone, a 42-year-old insurance agent in Independence. Teresa Stone, his wife, pleaded guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting she and the couple’s pastor, David Love, agreed that one of them would kill Randy. Love, who pulled the trigger, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action and received life with the possibility of parole after 25 and a half years.¹

What Happened to Randy Stone

Randy Stone was found shot to death inside his insurance office on Noland Road in Independence, Missouri on March 31, 2010. Teresa called 911 and reported finding blood around her husband’s head.² Investigators recovered a spent .40-caliber casing at the scene. There were no signs of a struggle, and cash was left on Randy’s desk, so police ruled out robbery and treated the death as a homicide.³

David Love, then the pastor of the family’s church, New Hope Baptist, delivered the eulogy at Randy’s funeral and publicly called him his best friend. Detectives attended and recorded the service.¹

How the Affair Surfaced

The turning point in the investigation was a torn-up handwritten letter recovered from a trash canister near Teresa’s desk at the insurance office. Pieced together, it read: “Happy Birthday Love. I am not in control of things yet but when we are fully together your birthday will always be exciting.” Handwriting analysis confirmed Randy had not written it.³

Teresa’s account of her movements the day of the killing was unusually precise. Love’s defense attorney, Molly Hastings, later said Teresa had recited her whereabouts “down to the minute,” complete with receipts and exact times.³ Confronted with the note, she had no ready explanation. An interrogation-room camera captured her muttering, “Oh great. I forgot about that.” She then said the note was from a “secret admirer.”

Police also found that Teresa and Love had been using disposable cellphones to communicate.⁴ In a second interview, Teresa admitted to a roughly ten-year affair with Love. She said she had once become pregnant by him, miscarried, and let Randy believe the child was his. A search of Love’s computer produced emails and photographs the two had exchanged about starting a life together. A coworker told investigators Teresa had asked about her husband’s life insurance policies after his death; those policies totaled a little over $800,000.²

David Love’s Arrest and Plea

Love resigned from New Hope Baptist Church in April 2010 after a search warrant was executed there and moved to Boiling Springs, South Carolina, where he worked as a truck driver. Investigators grew concerned he might flee: he ran routes to Canada, had requested a route to Nova Scotia, and was suspected of planning to leave for a family home in the Cayman Islands.⁵

A Jackson County grand jury indicted Love on November 5, 2010 on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.⁶ Four days later, officers arrested him in Spartanburg County, South Carolina after he attempted to flee.⁵

Love initially pleaded not guilty. In November 2011, rather than face trial on first-degree murder, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action and acknowledged in court that he had shot Randy Stone.⁷ He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 25 and a half years, making him eligible around 2036 or 2037, when he would be 76. The plea agreement did not require him to cooperate in the case against Teresa.¹

Teresa Stone’s Plea and Sentence

Prosecutors charged Teresa Stone with conspiracy to commit murder in May 2011.⁸ On April 30, 2012, the day her trial was to begin, she pleaded guilty. Under a partial plea agreement, prosecutors agreed not to seek a sentence longer than ten years, and she admitted that she and Love had agreed one of them would kill her husband.⁹

On June 15, 2012, Judge Marco Roldan of Jackson County Circuit Court sentenced her to eight years in prison.¹⁰

The Family Aftermath

Randy Stone’s mother, Clara Stone Koehler, said she only learned of the decade-long affair after her son’s death. Speaking after Teresa’s sentencing, she said: “I think Teresa needs help. That’s what hurts so bad is I love Teresa, but I just wanted her to at least get enough time to sit there and think, ‘Was it worth it? You know, why didn’t I just get a divorce?’ At least I’d have my son, and the kids would have their father.”¹¹ Randy and Teresa had two children together, Michael and Miranda.²

1
Claims Journal. Former Pastor Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder
2
Fox 2 Now. Snapped: Missouri Love Triangle Ends in 2010 Murder
3
ABC News. Marines Murder Exposes Wifes Affair With Pastor
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KMBC. Evidence Released in Randy Stone Murder Case
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GoUpstate. Boiling Springs Man, Ex-Pastor Charged in Murder
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The Pitch KC. David Love Arrested in South Carolina on a Murder Warrant
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KMBC. Former Pastor Pleads Guilty in Mans Slaying
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Fox 4 KC. Ex-Pastor Pleads Guilty to Independence Insurance Agent Murder
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The Pitch KC. Teresa Stone Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy To Commit Murder in Husbands Killing
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KOMU. Pastors Lover Gets 8 Years in Spouses Death
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KMBC. Mother of Randy Stone Speaks Out About Case