Boyfriend charged after Carthage woman hospitalized with crushed eye socket, brain bleed, multiple burns

(UPDATE: Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Nicole Marie Carlton issued a warrant for David Lee Shutters's arrest with bond set at $300,000 cash only.)

A rural Carthage man is being held in the Jasper County Detention Center on a $300,000 cash-only bond after allegedly beating his girlfriend and taking a torch to her arm.

The girlfriend was taken to Freeman West Hospital, Joplin, with a crushed right orbital socket, multiple burns and bleeding on the brain, according to the probable cause statement. 

David Lee Shutters (DOB 1988) was charged with two counts of first-degree domestic assault.

From the probable cause statement:

On 07/20/2025, at 0155 hours, I, Deputy Eric Travis #354, responded to a residence in Jasper County, Missouri, for a reported assault in progress. 

While en route, Jasper County Dispatch Center advised Victim 1 was assaulted by her boyfriend, David Shutters, causing an injury to her eye. Victim 1 advised that David had gone outside and was lighting something on fire. 

Victim 1 stated that David had fled into the woods before law enforcement's arrival. I contacted Victim 1 at her front door. I observed Victim 1’s right eye to be discolored and completely swollen shut. Other Deputies searched the area for David, but they were not able to locate him. 

Victim 1 was escorted to the ambulance, where she was examined. Victim 1 stated she had lost consciousness during the assault. Victim 1 showed me her right arm where David had taken a torch and burned her. The burned area covered most of her upper right arm.

The case was investigated by the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.