POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — A Poplar Bluff man was arraigned Friday morning for the bludgeoning death of his fiancee’s grandmother. Moments later, authorities recovered the alleged murder weapon — a baseball bat — from the Black River.

Eric Keith Wyatt, 39, appeared Friday morning before Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth for arraignment on a charge of first-degree murder. Wyatt, who is being held without bond, waived formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to court records. Steven Lynxwiler of the Public Defender’s Office entered an appearance on Wyatt’s behalf.

Wyatt was ordered to appear before Bloodworth at 1 p.m. Oct. 6 for a preliminary hearing.

Wyatt is accused of causing the death of Marion A. Carter on Wednesday afternoon by “striking her with a blunt-force object in the head until she was dead.”

Butler County Coroner Jim Akers said Carter’s injuries “were the worst I’ve ever seen in almost 20 years of law enforcement, working thousands of deaths. ... It was extremely horrific.”

Poplar Bluff police Lt. Josh Stewart agreed, saying it was a “pretty brutal” death, and the scene was “pretty gruesome. There was a lot of blood splatter (and) a lot of damage to her.”

Carter was found dead in her recliner inside her Poplar Bluff home where she resided with a 11-year-old grandson she was raising.

Carter’s body was found by her granddaughter, Jessica Ribbing.

At the suggestion of officers, Wyatt left the house to take the grandson to another residence.

Officers said Wyatt then fled from his apartment Wednesday afternoon when officers came there to talk to him “as a witness” at that point.

On Thursday evening, he was arrested at a home in Poplar Bluff without incident.

A friend of Wyatt’s said the suspect had a “bag of supplies” for either “camping out or hiding ... a jar of peanut butter, two cans of tuna and a pot to cook in.” It’s possible, Stewart said, Wyatt was seeking assistance to gather items so he “could survive,” because he “didn’t really have any money.”

After his arrest, Wyatt was interviewed, and police said he admitted killing Carter.

“The whole ordeal began because (Carter) was getting on to him because of money,” Stewart said. “He went over to the residence to pay her back.

“Through everything, he said, she had started getting on him for them borrowing money ... stealing money from her ... pretty well just taking advantage of her.

“ ... She got upset with the fact she knew they had her debit card and her vehicle. He said things basically then spun out of control.”

Wyatt, he said, also admitted to “being high on meth and being up for a few days.”

During the interview, Stewart said, officers confirmed the murder weapon was a bat, which Wyatt said he had thrown into Black River from the Bartlett Street bridge.

“He said (the bat) was already (in the home). Initially, he tried to strangle her, and when that didn’t work, he resorted to the bat,” Stewart said.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s dive team was called in to assist in recovering the bat Friday.

One of its members put a boat before the arrival of other dive-team members. While motoring down the river, “there it was,” Stewart said. “ ... It was located about 150 yards from the bridge, on the west side of the river, in a little grassy patch.”

After Wyatt’s arrest Wednesday, Stewart said, he gave officers consent to search his apartment.

“There, we recovered the victim’s debit card and a pair of boots that had blood on them that he was wearing when the crime was committed,” Stewart said.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.