John Shire had filed for divorce from Evelyn in October 1987, and he started dating Judith Perryman shortly afterwards. The divorce decree was issued in July 1988, but Evelyn, upset that she was not awarded custody of her sixteen-year-old son or possession of the farmhouse where they had lived, appealed the divorce settlement. The divorce was, therefore, not finalized, and the couple was still legally married.
At odds over terms of the divorce, Evelyn and John often argued in the weeks leading up to the shooting. Evelyn said later that Shire mocked her, sometimes beat her, and tampered with her automobile and other personal belongings. All the while he was openly dating Judith Perryman and going out with mutual friends, which humiliated Evelyn and added to her mental anguish.
One of the things the estranged couple particularly argued about was possession of the house, located ten miles south of Lebanon on Highway HH, and they more or less took turns living there. Evelyn claimed she had been staying at the Shire home in early August 1988, but when she drove there on the night of the 6th, she was surprised to find John there with Judith Perryman.
According to Judith's version of events, John had gone to bed early that night, and she'd joined him later. About 3:30 a.m. she was awakened by a light in the bedroom, and she saw Evelyn Shire standing near the bed. “Honey, Eve’s here,” Judith told John, but before he could awaken, Evelyn shot him just beneath the nose with a shotgun blast that killed him instantly. Evelyn left, and Ms. Perryman, who was uninjured, called authorities. Evelyn was arrested about an hour later at her daughter’s home in Lebanon.
Evelyn was charged with first-degree murder, and she pleaded not guilty at her preliminary hearing a month later. After a court-ordered examination to ascertain her mental fitness, her trial got underway in December 1989 in Lebanon. Judith Perryman repeated her story for the prosecution, and Evelyn took the stand in her own defense. She claimed to have blacked out and didn't really remember what happened after she saw her husband in bed nude with Perryman.
The jury deliberated for three hours before reaching a compromise verdict. They found Evelyn guilty of second-degree murder and recommended a sentence of life imprisonment but with the possibility of parole. Evelyn appealed the verdict, but the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld it, and she is still incarcerated 35 years later.
This post is a condensed version of a chapter in my book Gangster Queen Bonnie Parker and Other Murderous Women of Missouri https://www.amazon.com/Gangster-Bonnie-Parker-Murderous-Missouri/dp/1467170925/ref.
