Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott Archives

(Reporter Jason Rima at Missourinet Springfield affiliate KSGF contributed to this story)

The prosecutor’s office in southwest Missouri’s Greene County has filed three counts of second degree murder against a Springfield man accused of causing Saturday night’s deadly crash which killed three.

The crash happened at Kearney at Glenstone, killing Kimberly, Jamin and Braeden Seabert. The Greene County Prosecutor’s office has charged Andrew Matthew Lynch with eight felonies, including three counts of second degree murder.

Online court records show Lynch appeared in Greene County Circuit Court on Monday, pleading not guilty. Judge J. Ronald Carrier has ordered Lynch to be jailed without bond.

Missourinet Springfield affiliate KSGF reports Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott describes Lynch as “a monster”, saying Lynch was drunk and high on drugs at the time of the crash.

“This person’s (Lynch) a monster,” Arnott told reporters. “Because he didn’t come in and kill three people in their home, he still killed three people in their car. He set out to keep driving like he did, whether there was law enforcement behind him or not. The whole pattern and all the evidence shows that. And it’s disgusting.”

Sheriff Arnott says Lynch had been wreaking havoc for about 30 minutes on Saturday night, causing multiple crashes before he was spotted by deputies. The sheriff says deputies cancelled the pursuit after a Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter began following Lynch. The deadly crash happened about 30 seconds later.

KSGF reports Lynch’s blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit, and that toxicology results show that Lynch allegedly had meth in his system.