Tipp High grad accused of murder in Missouri

A Tippecanoe High School graduate is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of her husband’s alleged mistress in Missouri this month.

Shannon O’Roark Griffin, 52, pleaded not guilty Monday in 7th Judicial Circuit Court in Clay County,  Mo., according to court documents.

She is charged with murder and felony armed criminal actions for allegedly shooting and killing Irina Puscariu at Puscariu’s home in Gladstone,  Mo. on Jan. 13.

The Kansas City Star reports that authorities say Griffin drove 250 miles from her home in Granbury, Texas, to kill a woman identified as her husband’s mistress after he refused to end the extramarital affair.

Griffin shot Puscariu three times from a distance of about four feet, then left, according to the Star, citing court documents. She then called her husband, Roscoe L. Griffin, and told him what she had done.

Puscariu’s mother, Aneta Puscariu, later told police her daughter answered the door of their home to a woman who came inside and shot her to death, according to court records.

Aneta Puscariu later identified  Griffin from photographs, court records stated. Griffin was arrested in Sedgwick County, Kan., and returned to the Clay County Detention Center where she is being held on $1 million bond.

Griffin worked as a training specialist for Space Shuttle Systems at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston until retiring in 1993, according to her profile on LinkedIn.com.

The Tippecanoe Gazette reports that she graduated from Tippecanoe High School in 1978 as valedictorian of her class. She attended the University of Cincinnati and graduated with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in 1983.

An initial hearing on her case is set for Feb. 24. A mental health examination hearing has also been requested by Griffin’s lawyer. That is scheduled for Feb. 2.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2124 or kwedell@coxohio.com.