Posted on: September 18, 2023, 07:22h.
Last updated on: September 18, 2023, 07:22h.
A Lake Saint Louis, Mo. man suspected of shooting his father dead went to the Ameristar Casino St Charles with the victim’s credit card right after the alleged crime, The Saint Louis Dispatch reports.
Joseph M. Liszewski, 39, was charged with first-degree murder last Thursday following the discovery of his father’s body at the Lake Saint Louis home they shared.
When police later arrived at the house, Liszewski told them his father had inadvertently stepped on a shotgun and shot himself. That’s according to a probable cause statement seen by local media.
The suspect added that he didn’t know where his father was. Police suspected he had taken drugs.
Earlier, Liszewski was captured on security video at the Ameristar Casino St Charles, just hours after police suspect he killed his father.
Traumatic Event
Officers noticed there were dried drops of blood on the front porch of the house. In the hallway and kitchen, they found more blood, this time in splatters and pools, according to the report.
Officers concluded there was “obviously a traumatic event that had happened in the kitchen.”
Upstairs, they found the victim deceased and with a large gunshot wound to the left side of his face. He was covered by a comforter.
Police did not identify the victim by name. But neighbors who spoke to the Dispatch identified him as Edward Liszewski, 72.
Confession
Jospeh Liszewski, who has a history of DUI charges, was detained at the scene and booked on a $1 million bond. When police searched him, they found the suspect had his father’s bank cards and ID.
The suspect admitted that he and his father had gotten into an argument between midnight and 1am on Thursday morning.
He had killed his father in the kitchen with the shotgun, he stated. His father said, “You shot me, you shot me, you shot me,” according to the police report.
The suspect claimed he then tried to help his father by washing his face and placing towels on the wounds.
‘Blood and Guns’
Police were initially called to the crime scene after receiving a 911 call from a friend of the suspect. She had received text messages from Liszewski after he had returned from the casino.
Liszewski had told her “something terrible happened” and he “did it for her.”
The woman went to the house to check on him and found “blood and guns all over the place,” according to the probable cause statement.
Liszewski was also charged with armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm.