The Shooter at Midnight: Murder, Corruption, and a Farming Town Divided

Journalist Cooper narrates the audio of his debut book, which details how a gruesome murder, corruption in law enforcement, and the local court system divided the small farming town of Chillicothe, MO. Cooper describes the night in 1990 when a home-invader shot farmer Lyndel Robertson and his wife, Cathy; Lyndel survived, but Cathy died. Though there was another likely suspect, police attention soon centered on Mark Woodworth, the quiet 16-year-old son of the Robertsons’ nearest neighbor. Cooper narrates in a cool, calm manner, with minimal drama, as he describes the two trials that find Woodworth guilty even though he continued to maintain his innocence. More than 20 years after the murder, the town was reeling, devastated by devalued farmland, bank foreclosures, and distrust of the government. The community was still split on Woodworth’s guilt. Then his family hired a new attorney, who poked holes in the prosecution’s case and found police corruption (including intimidation and payoffs), a politically ambitious prosecutor, and a judge who was so convinced of Woodworth’s guilt that he excluded vital evidence.