Man Kills Own Son on Christmas Eve In Fight Over Mom Cheating Allegations: Sheriff

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced this week that Harold Luster of High Ridge was charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Kevin Ward, his 26-year-old son.

Luster reportedly pleaded not guilty on Thursday, per KSDK.

Per the sheriff, investigators believe "that during a disagreement, Harold retrieved a firearm from the residence and threatened another person before allegedly shooting his son." While only those few details were released in a statement, the probable cause documents, via Sun Herald, shed more light on what allegedly led to Ward's death.

The incident went down on December 24th, Christmas Eve, at Luster's home, while Ward and his fiancée were visiting from St. Louis, presumably for the holidays.

The victim's fiancée, per the docs, told deputies she was in a disagreement with Luster over accusations the man's partner -- who is Ward's mother -- was cheating. Luster allegedly felt his son's fiancée was "withholding information" from him and asked, "Do you wanna get shot?"

She said her fiancé, Ward, then told her to give him a knife from their truck and said to "run and call 911 if something happened." While she retreated from the area, she said she "maintained visual" on the pair and saw Ward try to deescalate the situation, per KSDK.

The woman claimed she heard Ward tell his father, "You're not going to shoot her," before Luster responded, "You wanna get shot instead?" She said she then saw Luster raise his arm while holding something that looked like a gun, before firing a single shot at his son's forehead, sending Ward to the ground.

Surveillance footage from a nearby home also allegedly showed the shooting, with a visible muzzle flash before the victim collapsed.

Luster remains in custody on a no bond warrant; he'll reportedly be back in court for a bond review hearing on January 3.