A couple has been charged with murder in the death seven years ago of the woman’s former husband.  In a news release, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd says Charles Cammisano was found dead inside his home in Riverside, Missouri on September 1, 2007.

A Platte County grand jury last week returned an indictment against Letti Straight, 54, and her current husband Terry Strait, 58. Each is charged with first-degree murder.

Zahnd says a family member who was unable to contact Cammisano found his body, lying in a pool of blood. He had been shot several times. Cammisano’s vehicle was missing from the residence but was later found in downtown Kansas City.

 

A 17-member metro squad investigated almost 100 leads over several days before disbanding. Riverside police, however, continued the investigation over many years, ultimately resulting in the charges issued by the grand jury on December 12. The Straits were arrested later that day.

Letti Strait is being held in the Platte County Jail under $1,000,000 cash only bond. Terry Strait was arrested in Kansas and is being held there pending extradition.

“These charges are the result of tireless police work by the Riverside Police Department and the relentless efforts of Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joe Vanover and other prosecutors in my office,” Mr Zahnd said. “It is often said that ‘justice never sleeps.’ In this case, we were never going to rest without doing everything we could to obtain justice for the family and friends of Charles Cammisano.”

If convicted of first degree murder, the Straits each face life in prison without the possibility of parole.