Monday, April 18, 2011
Trial For Missouri Man Accused In 1992 Rigling Murder Postponed
Trial for a Missouri man now accused in connection with the 1992 murder of Loretto resident Joann Rigling has been postponed.
Trial had been scheduled to get underway in Lawrence County Circuit Court for Curtis Staggs, 46 of Fredericksburg, Missouri, on charges of first degree murder, felony murder, and aggravated robbery.
Joann Rigling, age 57, was working inside Phil’s One Stop, a market she owned with husband Phillip, on the morning of June 19, 1992 when she was shot and killed. The culprit took the store’s cash register before fleeing from the scene.
Officials alleged that Lawrenceburg residents Jimmy Dale Hogan and Tammy Smith were the ones who committed the crimes.
While standing trial for a second time, Hogan was convicted in 1997 on charges of first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery for which he received a life sentence.
Tammy Smith was also convicted in connection with the crimes, but has since been released from prison.
Authorities with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation indicated in August that it was while preparing for Hogan’s new trial that new evidence in the case came to light.
The new evidence indicated that Phillip Rigling had approached several different individuals about killing his wife. Some indicate that he had offered Staggs $50,000 to commit the murder. As a result, indictments were obtained against both men in August of last year.
Phillip Rigling, age 74, of 341 Jackson Avenue, Lawrenceburg, awaits trial on charges of criminal responsibility for first degree murder, felony murder, and aggravated robbery.
Trial for Staggs has been postponed until June.
Due to the fact that key witnesses in the case, who are related to Staggs, failed to meet with prosecutors during a scheduled meeting the previous week, they were taken into custody and ordered to appear before Judge Stella Hargrove at 1:30 p.m. Penny Teresa Boyd, 47, and Mark Ray Boyd, 40, both of 125 Beasley Road, Lawrenceburg, were booked through the Lawrence County Detention Center on an attachment issued through Circuit Court.
Hargrove ordered that the Boyds appear for any future meetings and court dates. She required that they post a bond of $10,000 apiece to ensure that they comply with the order.
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