Man wanted for Double Murder arrested Thursday near West Plains

West Plains, MO. – A West Plains man wanted in connection to the murders of Frankie L. Ziegler and Richard L. Kuntz was arrested on Thursday.

On June 1, 2023, at 8 am, officers with the Howell County Sheriff’s Office traveled to a residence on State Route AB near West Plains, Missouri, to execute an arrest warrant on Levi Daniel Gunter. Gunter had an active warrant for his arrest in Howell County for two counts of Murder in the 1st degree, two counts of Armed Criminal Action, and Possession of a Controlled Substance for the deaths of Ziegler and Kuntz on May 5, 2020.

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Upon arrival Deputies discovered that Gunter was inside a camper on the property. Deputies set a perimeter around the camper and began giving verbal commands for the wanted man to exit the camper. After several minutes Gunter exited the camper and was taken into custody with no incident.

Levi D. Gunter was taken to the Howell County Adult Detention Center where he is currently being held on a $5,000,000 bond.

The two other individuals involved in the double murders were Joey Marcak and Kyla Croney. Marcak will have a jury trial in Springfield, Missouri in June 2024. Croney cooperated with authorities, pled guilty in October 2020, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In November 2022, the two counts of second degree murder were dismissed by the Howell County Court and her sentence was dropped to four years in prison.

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