Independence, Mo. — A former Independence pastor has pleaded guilty to the 2010 murder of one of his parishioners.
David Love, 51, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison to the March 2010 shooting murder of Independence insurance agent Randy Stone in Stone’s Noland Road office.
He had originally pleaded not guilty, but unexpectedly changed his plea on Wednesday.
Love had been arrested and charged with Stone’s murder in November of 2010 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he had moved and was working as a truck driver.
According to Stone’s relatives, Love had a 10-year affair with Stone’s wife, Teresa Stone. According to relatives, Love confessed to her the day after Randy Stone’s funeral, in which Love gave the eulogy. Love then left the metro area for South Carolina.
Teresa Stone was charged in May with conspiracy to commit murder.
“In my heart, I knew he’d (Love) done it,” said Stone’s mother, Clara Koehler, in an interview with FOX 4 in November of 2010.
Love will not be eligible for parole until 2037.
