A pastor is accused of killing one of his parishioners after having an affair with the church-goer's wife, then giveing the eulogy at the dead man's funeral? Of course the national media is all over the Randy Stone story. Duh.
David Love, the former pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Independence, made his first appearance in court yesterday since his extradition from South Carolina on a charge of first-degree murder. Love, 50, allegedly shot and killed Stone on March 31. Rumors are that there's a "bidding war" between the two most salacious true-crime shows, Dateline NBC and CBS's 48 Hours Mystery, for the inside track on all the nasty details.
Independence police spokesman Tom Gentry confirms via e-mail that he's had media inquiries on the Stone case from sources including Dateline NBC, 48 Hours, and even the BBC.
He cites other cases that garnered national attention: smotherfuckers Dena Riley and Richard Davis, who videotaped the rape and murder of Marsha Spicer in 2006, the disappearance and murders of the Porter children, and Summer Ship's disappearance. Gentry says he's received calls from producers with Dr. Phil, Geraldo Rivera, Bill O'Reilly, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and others.
"I think the rise in cable television and the proliferation of news shows and
magazines has a lot to do with the increase in local story interest," Gentry writes. "Once
a local story has been shown on any national outlet such as Nancy
Grace, with whom we have also had contact, everyone else clamors to pick up
the story."
Gentry is careful to add that he can't characterize the rivalry between media sources on the Stone case as a bidding war. "There is nothing to bid on as far as we are concerned," he writes. "We do not have
anything for sale. We treat national and international media the same as the
local media. If they show up for a news conference, or receive a news release
through the Associated Press, they get the same information the local media
gets."
Love photo via Examiner.net.
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