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Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

Stabbing Attack Kills MSU Professor, Another Instructor in Custody

Marc Cooper
Submitted Photo
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Missouri State University

Missouri State University says faculty and staff are mourning the loss of Dr. Marc Cooper, an emeriti history professor. The 66-year-old was found stabbed to death Wednesday night in central Springfield.

Cooper's wife, Nancy, was also stabbed. Police say her injuries are not life-threatening.

According to Springfield Police, the suspect apprehended at the scene was identified as 43-year-old Edward M. Gutting. He was booked into Greene County Jail. Gutting is an instructor of modern and classical languages at MSU. In a statement, the university said he’s been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Police were dispatched to 635 E. University at approximately 7:36 p.m. on Wednesday after receiving a report that a man and woman had been stabbed at the home. The site is several blocks from school property, and the university said there is no known threat to campus.

According to MSU, Cooper had served nearly 35 years on faculty, from 1980-2014.

“Dr. Cooper was an active scholar, publishing several articles on the cuneiform tablets of ancient Iraq, and his teaching specialty area was in the history of the Ancient Near East,” said Dr. Victor Matthews, dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs, in a statement.

It went on to say Cooper served as department head in history from 1997-2003. Over the course of his career, he was a visiting professor at Hebrew University in 1987 and a Fellow for Imagining America in 2010-11. In retirement, he continued to serve the university as the managing editor of the eJournal in Public Affairs. He was active in developing blended and online courses and in promoting engaged scholarship.