Pleas for help, sobs and screams echoed through a Cass County courtroom in Harrisonville and led to the case against Kenneth Hunter of Belton being bound over for trial. Hunter is accused of fatally shooting his wife and son-in-law, and shooting and wounding his daughter. Prosecutors say Hunter began shooting during an argument about family finances. During the hearing, prosecutors played portions of the 9-1-1 call Ramona Hunter made as life slipped away from her. Ramona Hunter is heard saying “I’ve been shot. I’m dying.” When asked by the 9-1-1 operator who shot her, Ramona Hunter is heard to say her husband shot her. Another 9-1-1 tape carries the sobbing voice of the daughter telling the operator that her father had opened fire on the family. Cass County prosecutor Chris Coster says he does not think he will ask for the death penalty because of Hunter’s age, he’s 71, and because of his poor health.
