Woman charged with murder in shooting death of Clinton Officer Ryan Morton

Tammy Dee Widger was charged on Wednesday with felony murder in the shooting death of Ryan Morton, a Clinton police officer killed in the line of duty last week.

Widger, whose rental home was the site of the fatal shooting, had previously been charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and with keeping or maintaining a public nuisance.

The second-degree murder charge was added by Henry County prosecutors on Wednesday in an amended complaint, according to court records.

Widger allegedly committed felony murder because Morton was shot and killed "as a result of the perpetration of the class C felony of delivery of a controlled substance," according to court records.

John Picerno, a Kansas City defense attorney, said that during the commission of a felony, a person can be charged with murder even without directly killing someone.

Widger, 37, said she has not been provided with a public defender as she sits in jail facing charges.

Widger has been in the Henry County jail since the night of March 6, when police arrived at her home at 306 W. Grandriver St. after a 911 call made 20 miles away mistakenly sent officers there.

Henry County emergency communications officials later said that a database error sent police to the wrong address. An investigation into that error is ongoing.

According to court documents, Widger answered the door and said there was no disturbance. She had not made a 911 call, she said. Five officers went into the house anyway, to ensure no one was being harmed, authorities said.

An armed man, later identified as James Waters, was at the house. Soon after the officers entered, gunfire erupted.

Morton was mortally wounded.

Four officers escaped, two of them wounded.

Morton lay dying in the home and officers were unable to reach him for hours because of the gunfire. About midnight that night, a Missouri Highway Patrol SWAT team entered the house and Waters was found dead.

Widger was arrested at the scene. She was charged that day with keeping or maintaining a public nuisance by using her home to sell methamphetamine, according to Henry County prosecutors. She allegedly told investigators that in exchange for helping Waters distribute methamphetamine, he agreed to pay her bills, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say that investigators serving a search warrant found a purse with Widger's identification inside and a bag containing what appeared to be marijuana, meth and pills, each packaged separately.

A day after the shooting, she was charged with delivery of a controlled substance.

Widger made her first court appearance via video March 8 and remains in custody. Her bond has been raised to $100,000.

She asked to be represented by a public defender, but according to court records no attorney has been appointed to her case more than a week after her arrest.

Widger is scheduled to appear in court April 6.

Thousands of law enforcement officers and members of the military attended Morton's funeral in Clinton on Monday.

The Star's Joe Robertson and Glenn E. Rice contributed to this story.

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Woman charged with murder in shooting death of Clinton Officer Ryan Morton."