SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former high school superintendent pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of a Springfield couple.
Fifty-three-year-old Mark Porter of Ozark entered his plea Friday. He is charged with killing Gary and Jan Tyrrell in May at their Springfield home.
KYTV reports prosecutors say Porter was about $320,000 in debt and had asked Gary Tyrrell for a loan, which was denied.
Investigators say Porter sold about $18,500 worth of collectible coins right after the Tyrrells were killed, about the same amount of coins missing from the couple’s home after they died. Court documents indicate Gary Tyrrell was shot and Jan Tyrrell suffered severe head trauma.
Porter was superintendent when Gary Tyrrell was assistant superintendent in the Mountain Grove school system.