Imperial Man Charged with Murdering His Estranged Wife

Matthew McDonough, 54, of Imperial faces murder charges and is being held in the Jefferson County Jail in lieu of a $500,000 cash bond after sheriff’s deputies found his estranged wife Deborah, 38, dead in an Imperial home.

Deputies went to Matthew’s home in the 100 block of Harvest Grove at about 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, after a receiving a request to check on Deborah’s well being, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department news release said.

Deborah, who lives in St. Louis, and her children were attending a family event at the Imperial home, neighbors said to deputies.

They also said Deborah’s mother asked them to check on her daughter and grandchildren at the Harvest Grove home.

A neighbor found and took the children from the home, for their safety, because the parents could not be found.

Deputies entered the home and found Deborah dead in a bedroom and Matthew alive in the basement. Deputies said Matthew had self-inflicted injuries and medics took him to a local hospital.

Deputies booked Matthew McDonough, after his hospital treatments, at the Jefferson County Jail and the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Matthew McDonough with murder.

The Medical Examiners Office has Deborah McDonough’s body, the sheriff’s news release said.