Man poised to inherit woman’s fortune kills her with gardening tool, MO cops say

Armed with a gardening tool, a man is accused of killing a woman after demanding his inheritance from her, Missouri authorities say.

Prior to the Sept. 25 fatal incident, the victim’s husband said Derrick Alling had been making threats of harming her, according to court records filed in Christian County.

“The victim had been recording defendant acting aggressively and violently towards her within weeks of her murder,” authorities said.

Poised to inherit her fortune, Alling struck the woman in the head and face with a gardening tool, according to the court documents. The woman, who suffered fractures to her skull, was killed.

Prosecutors referred to Alling’s alleged actions as “violent and gruesome.”

The victim has not been publicly identified as of Sept. 29.

Alling, of Ozark, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, court records show. He was jailed on no bond.

Christian County is about a 185-mile drive southeast from Kansas City.