No charges filed in fatal Cape Girardeau stabbing

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - The Cape Girardeau County prosecutor has decided not to file charges in a fatal stabbing in July.

Prosecutor Morley Swingle said Friday that he believes the man who stabbed 37-year-old Walter Scott Claar on July 3 was legally justified under a state law that allows use of deadly force against someone who is committing a felony.

Swingle says Claar began assaulting a woman at her home when she told him to leave.

He says while the woman's daughter's boyfriend was trying to help get Claar out of the home, Claar was stabbed twice. The name of the man who stabbed Claar and the woman's name have not been released.

The Southeast Missourian reports (http://bit.ly/qLkL91) that Claar underwent surgery but died on July 7


Information from: Southeast Missourian, http://www.semissourian.com