Oct. 22 murder trial set for Rondias Webb

The first degree murder trial for a Joplin man who allegedly murdered his wife just weeks after she had taken out a restraining order against him has been scheduled for three weeks from today, Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Jasper County Circuit Court. Judge David Dally will preside.

That restraining order against Rondias Webb, 36, will be presented by the prosecution, thanks to a ruling made Sept. 16 by Judge Dally, who overruled a defense motion to have the order excluded. That full order of protection for Monica Webb against her husband was issued one year ago today.

Police say that Webb shot his wife to death then shot himself, and though he initially was in critical condition, he has recovered.

The problems between the Webbs were detailed in Monica Webb's request for the protection order. He had tried to keep her in their apartment, but she managed to sneak out. He caught up to her and tackled her.

"He was on top of me, telling me to stop yelling or he was gonna put a bullet in me," she wrote in the protection order request. "I continued to yell. He then grabbed a rock and told me to shut up."

A probable cause affidavit says Webb threatened to bash her head in if she screamed. She was able to walk away without being shot or hit with the rock, but Webb followed and kept trying to take her phone away, she wrote. He told her if she called police and he was arrested, she would be sorry.