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A Missouri judge ruled Thursday that Edward Gutting, a former instructor of modern and classical languages at Missouri State University, is unfit to stand trial for the 2016 murder of his former colleague Marc Cooper, who was a retired professor of history at Missouri State. The Springfield News-Leader reported that Gutting was charged with first-degree murder but that the court order suspended criminal proceedings and sent Gutting to mental health treatment. Gutting’s attorneys raised concerns about his mental faculties and ability to participate in his own defense, and a state psychologist agreed. The state is to report back to the court about Gutting’s mental capacities in seven months.
Gutting allegedly stabbed Cooper to death in Cooper’s home, injuring his wife, Nancy, as well. The News-Leader reported that data on Gutting's computers indicated he was having money problems and that he felt Cooper was making his work life difficult. Cooper retired in 2014, but Gutting may have wanted his still-unfilled position, according to police records.
