ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — The man charged and wanted for a deadly road rage attack turned himself in Wednesday afternoon.
A spokesperson from the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Joshua O’Keefe turned himself in at Troop C headquarters.
“Joshua O’keefe has been arrested and is in custody. O’keefe turned himself in without incident. We would like to again thank the public for their help in this case. Without all the tips we could not have solved this case in as timely of a manner as we did,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C said on Twitter.
Ron Lawson, 68, died Sunday night at the hospital after the incident that morning on Interstate 64 in O’Fallon, Missouri.
O'Keefe was charged on Tuesday, but wasn't in custody at that time. The St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged him with one count of second-degree murder.
On Thursday, Missouri State Highway Patrol officials confirmed O'Keefe's wife was taken into custody. A source further confirmed with 5 On Your Side's Christine Byers that she was arrested on suspicion of hindering prosecution. She has not been charged.
According to charging documents, O’Keefe fled the scene before responding officers arrived. Witnesses said Lawson and O’Keefe were traveling westbound on Interstate 64 and both vehicles stopped on the right shoulder. They both got out and began walking towards each other – that’s when O’Keefe ran towards Lawson and punched him in the face with his right hand, according to charging documents. O’Keefe then punched him at least one more time and then put Lawson into Lawson’s vehicle, where he remained until police arrived.
Numerous security camera footage from several people helped police identify O'Keefe as the suspect.
On Aug. 31 a citizen contacted police and said they lived in Lake St. Louis, southwest of Interstate 64, and believed the vehicle identified on social media was at his residence attempting to purchase a golf cart. The citizen identified O'Keefe as the person who purchased the golf cart from them. The citizen indicated his neighbors had security cameras and would attempt to obtain footage of O'Keefe and the vehicle he was driving.
Lawson's family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for his funeral expenses.
5 On Your Side's Christine Byers contributed to this report.
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