NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) - A man who shot and killed his son’s girlfriend during a dispute over custody of his grandchildren agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the case.
Rickey Lamb, 62, accepted the plea deal Thursday in the June 2019 death of 32-year-old Sarah Tyminski. The shooting also seriously injured Lamb’s son, Chris Lamb.
Rickey Lamb was scheduled to go on trial Monday in Newton County on first-degree murder charges. As part of the plea, two other charges were dropped and he would have a chance at parole, The Joplin Globe reported.
Sentencing was scheduled for June 17.
The couple had signed custody of their two daughters over to Chris Lamb’s parents in a tribal court arrangement but were allowed to visit them on weekends.
Prosecutors said the shooting occurred after Rickey Lamb refused to let the couple see their daughters for a weekend. Chris Lamb then threatened to take the girls and never let them see their grandparents again.
The father and son gave differing accounts of their confrontation at the couple’s home, during which the two men exchanged gunfire.
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