RIPLEY, Miss. (Court TV) — A Missouri man is standing trial for a second time on charges that he murdered his daughter’s boyfriend during a robbery.
Jeffrey Spence reacts to a mistrial being declared in his murder trial on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Court TV)
Jeffrey Spence stood trial on murder charges in the death of Kirby Carpenter for the first time in September 2025, but the judge in that case declared a mistrial when the jury was deadlocked in a six-six split and could not reach a verdict.
At the time of his death, Carpenter was dating Jeffrey Spence’s daughter, Caitlin Spence, who previously pleaded guilty to accessory to murder in an agreement with prosecutors. Caitlin Spence testified at the first trial, telling the jury that her father confessed his involvement to her after she found the victim’s body on his property. Caitlin Carpenter even testified about texts with her family where her father suggested opening a business called “Assassin Inc.”
The victim’s body was found next to his driveway, approximately 30 feet from the carport. His truck was there, locked, with groceries inside; the keys to the vehicle and a large amount of cash were still in Carpenter’s pocket when his body was found. Crime scene photos presented during Jeffrey Spence’s first trial show that a curtain was draped over the victim’s body and a toolbox was placed on top.
Jeffrey Spence’s defense maintains he had no involvement in Carpenter’s killing and that the defendant was at his home in Virginia on the day of the murder. At the first trial, Jeffrey Spence’s attorney emphasized the fact that Carpenter was known to sell drugs and regularly received threats from people he did business with, suggesting in opening statements that Carpenter sold lab diamonds to a Tennessee jeweler and also sold meth.
