Twelve years after the murder of Charles Cammisano, his ex-wife has been convicted of first degree murder.
Letti K. Strait, 59, of Parkville, was found guilty by a Platte County jury on Feb. 6, following an eight-day trial.
Letti Strait
“It is often said that ‘justice never sleeps,’ and that was certainly true in this case,” Platte County prosecuting attorney Eric Zahnd said in a press release. “Due to the relentless dedication of the Riverside Police Department and after 12 years of waiting patiently, the Cammisano children have finally been given the justice they deserve.”
Cammisano was found shot to death inside his Riverside home on Sept. 1, 2007. His body was covered by a blanket.
At trial, prosecutors proved that Cammisano and Strait had a tumultuous relationship before, during and after their divorce.
For several months prior to Cammisano’s murder, Cammisano and Strait had been arguing because Strait had improperly claimed she had custody of the four Cammisano children in order to collect food stamps.
Cammisano had primary physical custody of the four children — ages 14, 13, 11 and 9 — and he was struggling financially. In July 2007, he applied for food stamps but was denied assistance because Strait had been collecting food stamp benefits for the children for more than two years.
On Aug. 31, 2007, the 9-year old child overheard his mother say, “We have to kill him.”
In addition to the couple’s children, Letti Strait’s husband, Terry Strait, testified for the State of Missouri. He had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and is awaiting sentencing.
Terry Strait told the jury he waited outside Cammisano’s home while Letti Strait was inside, where she shot Cammisano to death.
Cammisano had been at The Caddyshack, a bar in the River Market, the night before his murder.
While at the Caddyshack, Cammisano confided to a friend that his ex-wife had threatened to kill him. His Jeep, which was missing from his residence, was found near the Cold Storage Lofts in the River Market. DNA matching Letti Strait was found on the Jeep’s steering wheel.
“There are no words to describe a mother who inflicts a lifetime of loss on her own children,” said Zahnd. “Her venom toward her ex-husband was intense, and she ultimately gunned him down over some food stamps.”
In 2011, Zahnd’s office convicted Strait of attempted tax evasion and filing a false tax return in connection with her food stamp fraud. She was sentenced to three years in prison for those crimes.
Strait was indicted by a Platte County grand jury on Dec. 12, 2014, more than seven years after the murder. She has remained in custody in the Platte County Detention Center awaiting trial since that date, through numerous trial delays obtained by her defense attorneys.
“This was a complex and difficult case with little direct evidence connecting Letti Strait to the murder of her ex-husband,” Zahnd said. “However, the circumstantial evidence proving her guilt was strong, and I commend the Riverside Police Department for collecting everything necessary for a jury to convict.”
During trial, the jury heard from 39 witnesses and viewed more than 300 pieces of evidence.
Strait will be sentenced at 9 a.m. May 26, 2020. The only possible sentence in the case is life without the possibility of parole.
The case was investigated by the Riverside Police Department, members of the Kansas City Metro Squad, the Kansas City Police Department Crime Laboratory and the Platte County Juvenile Office. The case was tried by first assistant prosecuting attorney Mark L. Gibson and special assistant prosecuting attorney Miranda L. Loesch. Loesch, a former assistant prosecuting attorney in Platte County, now serves as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Cole County, Mo. Former executive assistant prosecuting attorney Joe Vanover presented the case to the grand jury and helped prepare the case for trial prior to his departure from the office.