Sarcoxie Man Sentenced for Killing Preacher
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
A Four-State man charged with killing his preacher also learned his fate Monday. 41-year old Mark Sooter of Sarcoxie was found not guilty of the murder by reason of mental disease or defect. Monday he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a mental health facility. State psychologists who examined Sooter say he did have a mental disease or defect at the time he committed the murder. 55-year old Marvin Valentine was shot at close range on his doorstep at the church of the Nazarene in Sarcoxie. Jasper County prosecuting attorney Dean Dankleson says since Sooter could not appreciate what he was doing was wrong. The state had no other choice than to accept the plea. Sooter has been turned over to the custody or the director of the division of mental health.
