Man stabs his father in the eye and reads him last rites before deciding to ‘end the suffering’ with a kitchen cleaver

A Missouri man was arrested after allegedly confessing to killing his father and burying the remains, which were discovered on his property. 40-year-old Richard Scott Saettele reportedly got into a fight with his father, 63-year-old Michael Saettele, that ended with a screwdriver in the older man’s eye and a kitchen cleaver through the heart.

Though the incident, according to the accused, happened in mid-to-late September, the Lincoln County MO Sheriff’s Office statement included a missing persons report for Michael Saettele stating he was last seen on August 15, 2026. It is unclear whether his son or someone else reported him as missing.

The murder started with a simple argument

According to The New York Post, which claimed to have read the probable cause statement in the case, Richard Saettele explained that he and his father had gotten into an argument, during which his father threw a flathead screwdriver at him. At that point, Saettele allegedly stated that he took the screwdriver and proceeded to stab his father in the eye with it.

When that occurred, his father reportedly fell and said, “Ricky, this is not the way.” The younger Saettele allegedly told authorities that he tried to remove the screwdriver from his father’s eye but that it was “stuck.” He then claimed that for the next five minutes or so, his father made “deeply moving statements” while “suffering.”

The affidavit reportedly stated that, “[Richard Saettele] began praying the Lord’s Prayer with him. [Richard] Saettele stated he could no longer watch the suffering so he entered the residence and knowingly obtained a cleaver kitchen knife he described to be two inches wide and approximately nine inches long with the intent to end the victim’s life.”

After he made that decision, Saettele allegedly read his father the last rites before he “proceeded to ‘end the suffering’ by stabbing him directly in the heart.” He reportedly completed the last rites after the stabbing. Once he was sure his father was no longer breathing, Saettele supposedly buried his body in a hole about a foot deep. A few days later, when the body began to smell, the younger Saettele reportedly covered it with piles of insulation and construction debris.

Saettele was caught because he allegedly told someone about the murder

Authorities went to Saettele’s home on October 24, 2026, after he reportedly told someone that he had killed his father and read him the last rites. That person immediately contacted the police.

According to Law & Crime, the affidavit stated, “Detectives and cadaver detection canines responded. The two-cadaver canine[s] both independently gave a positive indication in an attached lean-to-shed. Inside the shed was a pile of construction debris and a pile of fiberglass insulation. Human remains were located under the debris and insulation.”

Per the Lincoln County MO Sheriff’s Office’s statement on Facebook, Saettele has been charged with two counts of armed criminal action, murder in the first degree, and domestic assault in the first degree. He is currently being held without bond.

Prosecutors are examining whether the older Saettele would have survived the screwdriver to the eye as part of their case, since the younger Saettele chose not to call 911.

Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood explained to Fox 2 Now, “The medical examiner is going to have to take a look at the body and make any type of determination whether or not that was going to be a fatal wound. Partly, whether or not the wound was fatal itself was whether or not you were able to seek treatment in a timely fashion.”

People can survive being stabbed in the eye, especially if the object inserted hasn’t penetrated the brain. However, transorbital penetrating injuries are rare with stab wounds to the brain only making up around 0.4% of head injuries in the West. However, a study on mortality rates in ocular trauma concluded that those more likely to die from such injuries were older white males, so the likelihood of the older Saettele surviving a stab to the eye is very much in question.

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