A southern Missouri man has been sentenced to die for killing an elderly couple who interrupted a burglary at their isolated, rural home in July 2010.
Laclede County Circuit Judge Kenneth Hayden followed a jury’s recommendation Tuesday in imposing the death penalty on 33-year-old Jesse Driskill, of Lebanon. Driskill was also given seven consecutive life sentences for rape, sodomy and multiple counts of armed criminal action.
Driskill was convicted in August of murdering 82-year-old Johnnie Wilson and 76-year-old Coleen Wilson at their home near Lebanon. The couple had just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary when they confronted Driskill burglarizing the house early on the morning of July 26, 2010.
Family members concerned about the couple’s welfare discovered their bodies the next day.