A former Dent County sheriff’s deputy again faces the death penalty for a 2011 double homicide outside Salem. This time, the recommendation comes from a jury.
Marvin Rice, 54, heard the jury endorsement for execution Saturday at the St. Charles County Courthouse following a week of arguments to the jury. It is the first jury-ordered execution in Missouri since 2013. The final sentencing in the case is scheduled for May 23.
Rice was previously convicted in 2017 of first-degree murder for killing Annette M. Durham in 2011 along with a second-degree murder conviction for killing Steven W. Strotkamp. That jury handed down a life sentence for the second-degree murder charge but deadlocked 11-1 on death for first-degree murder. Judge Kelly Parker then made his own ruling for death several weeks later.
In 2019, the Supreme Court of Missouri overturned Rice’s second-degree murder conviction and ordered a new trial while also affirming his first-degree murder conviction but also ordering resentencing. That decision led to last week’s proceedings and the new verdict for death.
Rice committed the 2011 murders over a custody dispute with Durham, his ex-girlfriend, and her boyfriend, Strotkamp. Court documents from the Rice trial document that he confronted Durham and Strotkamp at a residence on Dent County Road 3300 in December 2011. An argument occurred during which Rice shot the victims multiple times in their chests. Durham's six-year-old daughter was hiding in the bedroom with her brother and heard two sets of gunshots, according to a highway patrol probable cause statement.
Rice then began fleeing north on Highway 72 before merging onto Highway 63 in Rolla. Police officials began pursuit near Westphalia after identifying his white Subaru station wagon and using Rice’s cell phone signal to determine his location. During the chase speeds exceeded 80 miles-per-hour. Rice got as far as Jefferson City. He exited the highway after his tires were ruptured by a spike strip and fled into the downtown Capitol Plaza Hotel. A holiday party happened to be occurring in the hotel at the time.
A shootout broke out between Rice, a pursuing Jefferson City police officer and an off-duty Cole County sheriff’s deputy who was serving as security for the holiday party. Rice fired several shots toward the officers with a .40 Glock. He was apprehended after being struck by bullets in the abdomen and forearm. The incident subsequently garnered national attention due to taking place so close to the state capitol.
Prior to the 2011 shooting, Rice was serving as a correctional officer at the South-Central Correctional Center in Licking. From 2004 to 2009, Rice served as a deputy with the Dent County Sheriff’s Office.
Rice is the second Dent County resident to be sentenced to state execution. Earl Forrest was previously sentenced to death in 2002 for killing Harriett Smith, Michael Wells and Dent County Sheriff’s Deputy JoAnn Barnes in 2001. He was executed May 11, 2016.
