HistoryJanuary 30, 2025

The trial, appeal and retrial of a Butler County farmer finally ended in acquittal on this day in 1925. In 1975, law enforcement made the front page again when a family started an armed standoff over a repo order. 

Richard Hendrickson, standing at right, holds a rifle next to a makeshift barricade during a standoff with Butler County deputies and state troopers. His father Larry Hendrickson, center, negotiates with Capt. Wayne Brooks (not shown). The standoff began when a repossession order was served at Richard’s trailer home.
Richard Hendrickson, standing at right, holds a rifle next to a makeshift barricade during a standoff with Butler County deputies and state troopers. His father Larry Hendrickson, center, negotiates with Capt. Wayne Brooks (not shown). The standoff began when a repossession order was served at Richard’s trailer home.DAR file photo/Roger Lopata

Editor's note: This article was updated at 2:23 p.m. Jan. 30 with the correct article for 1975. It was a doozy and the author didn't want you to miss it.

A local farmer was cleared of murder charges on this day in 1925, wrapping up a year and a half of courtroom battles. Casper Cole shot his landlord, J.J. Epley, after the latter threatened his life multiple times and moved to pull a gun on him.

Fifty years later, deputies and state troopers struggled to keep a standoff from erupting into violence when a county official's family drew guns over a court order.

100 years ago

Jan. 30, 1925

• Local farmer Casper Cole was acquitted of second-degree murder today, concluding what The Daily Republican called “one of the most remarkable criminal law cases ever tried in this section.”

Cole was convicted last year of murdering landowner J.J. Epley and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court and won a retrial, where his defense lawyer successfully argued against five of the main points used to convict him.

Testimony showed a long-running dispute between Cole and Epley. Epley rented a Butler County farm to Cole, then tried to evict him months before the contract expired and insisted Cole had no right to the crops he’d already planted. Epley even threatened Cole with a pistol and later told friends he intended to shoot him.

The feud culminated on Nov. 24, 1922, when Epley attempted to plow land Cole was using for pasture. After a verbal dispute, Epley declared “he was as game as Cole” and reached into his pocket, apparently for the gun, and Cole shot him twice.

75 years ago

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Jan. 30, 1950

• Butler County’s $188,417 budget was approved and returned by the state auditor today. It’s $17,000 higher than the 1949 budget, partly due to election expenses. Primary and general elections are due this year, plus a special election regarding a state road.

50 years ago

Jan. 30, 1975

• A Butler County family held a four-hour armed standoff with law enforcement yesterday. All now face felony charges of obstructing an officer, resisting arrest, and flourishing a deadly weapon.

Arrested were Larry Hendrickson, chairman of the Butler County Fire Protection District and a former city councilman, his wife Elsie, and their sons Richard and Randy. The standoff began at 10:30 a.m. when deputies tried to repossess Richard’s house trailer on Pike Creek Road. Elsie answered the door but refused to accept the order. The sheriff’s report stated she threatened to shoot the deputy. Richard later claimed to reporters it was the deputy who threatened to shoot her.

Speaking of Richard, things went downhill with his arrival. He armed himself with a pistol and shotgun, insisting he wasn’t leaving and deputies would have to “shoot it out” with him.

Larry pulled up to the property at the same time as state troopers. He ducked into his house (which was next door to the trailer) and came out with a rifle, also threatening to shoot.

Negotiation attempts were unsuccessful. The father and sons built a concrete block barricade and waited with guns drawn. Elsie served them lunch as more troopers and deputies arrived.

Finally, Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Wayne Brooks worked out a deal, first with Elsie and then the Hendrickson men. The family agreed to pay the bond on the repossession order and fight it in a civil suit.

Richard and Larry Hendrickson turned themselves in and were released on bond.

Richard told reporters he stopped making payments on the trailer due to complaints against Gilmore Mobile Homes, the seller, and Commercial Credit, which financed the purchase. He stated he was cheated out of appliances and reimbursement for repairs.

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