Son Accused of Reading Father Last Rites Before Killing Him

A Missouri man accused of killing his missing father allegedly told investigators that the two prayed together after an argument turned violent, then said he read his father last rites before the fatal act. The extraordinary account emerged after authorities found Michael Saettele, 63, buried under construction materials at his property in Foley.

Richard Scott Saettele, 40, was arrested October 24 after a person contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and reported hearing a disturbing account of his father’s death. Investigators say the son later made statements describing an altercation at the family property and his actions afterward. He faces first-degree murder, first-degree domestic assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

The disappearance and discovery

The elder Saettele had been reported missing after he was last seen near Kings Lake Road in Foley on August 15. His car and phone remained at home, leaving relatives and investigators without the ordinary signs of an intentional trip or a confirmed destination.

On October 23, according to court reporting, a person received a call from the younger Saettele in which he allegedly admitted injuring his father, described religious rites and said he had buried the body. The person passed that information to authorities, giving the missing-person investigation a specific place to search.

On October 24, investigators and cadaver-detection dogs went to a structure attached to the property. The dogs alerted near a pile of construction debris and insulation. Searchers found human remains beneath the materials, according to the affidavit described by Law and Crime and local reporting.

The alleged account given to police

According to the affidavit, Richard Saettele told investigators he and his father argued outside the residence. He alleged that his father threw or tried to throw a screwdriver during the dispute and that he took control of it before injuring the older man.

The son said his father fell to the ground and spoke to him, and that the two recited the Lord’s Prayer. He allegedly told investigators that instead of contacting emergency services he went inside to retrieve another weapon and returned, believing he would end his father’s suffering. Police say he described reading last rites during that sequence.

Investigators allege Richard Saettele then moved his father’s body to a shallow burial spot and covered it with dirt and construction materials. Court reporting says he later placed insulation over the area. The alleged concealment is part of the factual account detectives will seek to corroborate with physical evidence.

An unusual claim, unresolved legal questions

The younger Saettele told investigators he could not recall the exact day of the killing, placing it in the middle or latter part of September, according to published descriptions of the affidavit. That timing differs from his father’s last reported sighting in August, leaving investigators to reconstruct the full intervening period.

Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood has said a medical examiner’s findings will be relevant to the question of whether the earlier wound might have been survivable with timely care. The prosecution’s charging decision is already public, but the medical determination is a separate evidentiary matter.

Saettele was held without bond in the Lincoln County Jail. Reporting on the case listed a further court appearance for November 3. He is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the allegations in court.

For Michael Saettele’s relatives, the months-long search ended with a discovery on the family’s own property. The son’s account remains a central piece of the investigation, but it will not be the only evidence a court may consider in determining the circumstances of his father’s death.

References: First Alert 4 | Law and Crime | FOX 2 via AOL

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