"Sorry, brother, but I can't live this way any more. Too much pain, too much heartache. We have shared so many wonderful times together, it was a hell of a party."
With those words, Randy Hance said goodbye to his brother. He meticulously detailed what was to be done with his property and told his brother to beat up his ex-wife's boyfriend. "He is part, a big part of why this happened."
What Hance intended to do, federal officials say, is to murder his ex-wife, then kill himself.
In a series of letters, written to his brother, his aunt, his children, and his former girlfriend, Hance, a former McDonald County deputy and Seneca police officer, planned everything about his death, down to naming the people he wanted to serve as his pallbearers.
The letters were filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri as part of the U. S. government's efforts to keep Hance in jail without bond on weapons charges while he awaits his April 25 trial.
Hance was indicted Dec. 15 by a federal grand jury for possessing firearms and ammunition while under an order of protection. The indictment said that on Nov. 23 Hance was under a full order of protection for threatening and harassing his former wife Connie Hance. The order was issued after he had repeatedly threatened Ms. Hance, according to the indictment.
"The threats and harassment included defendant putting a gun to Ms. Hance's head, threatening telephone calls in which (he) threatened Ms. Hance's life and repeated visits by (him) to Ms. Hance's residence."
He was also under a second protection order at that time, court records indicate, after he "repeatedly threatened and harassed a former paramour in the state of Kansas."
Hance was arrested Nov. 23 after Ms. Hance saw him outside her home and called 911. "Prior to his arrest," the court documents said, "the defendant had told Ms. Hance that something bad was going to happen to her on that date."
When he was arrested, he was in possession of a shotgun, a .40 caliber pistol and a Ruger M77 rifle, along with more than 150 rounds of ammunition. Two of the weapons were loaded and ready to fire, according to the court documents.
After he was arrested, Hance consented to a search. Officers found a spiral notebook containing the messages to friends and family members. "These letters indicated that (Hance) intended to murder Ms. Hance and then kill himself."
After he was arrested, court records indicated, he was placed in the Greene County Jail in Springfield, "where he attempted to commit suicide."
The government won the first round Friday when Judge Richard Dorr ordered that Hance continue to be held without bond, but Hance's lawyer, Shawn Askinosie of Springfield, one of the top criminal defense attorneys in southwest Missouri, says that order should be rescinded since possession of a firearm while under an order of protection is not a violent offense.
Government lawyers filed Hance's unsent letters today in an effort to ensure that Hance stay behind bars. A letter to his aunt indicates that he planned to send her the title to his truck, with instructions to sell it to pay for his funeral. "If any is left, just give it to the kids equally,"
he wrote.
He asked to be buried on land that he owns, but instructed, "I do not want Connie by me for any reason" He said that "Connie's land and money should go to the children."
"I tried so hard to be a good police officer and those crooked scum at Mac County would not let an honest cop like David and I do an honest job. I haven't done everything right in my life, but when I put that badge on I did.
"It's all gone now, my family, the hunting days are over, and most of my energy to live is gone, also. I go to sleep hurting and wake up the same way.
"Please pray for my soul."