He killed a house guest, police say, then said he’s ‘going to jail for a long time’

Police say a man accused of gunning down his house guest in Glen Carbon removed the empty casings from the gun, walked back into the house and told a witness, “I’m going to jail for a long time.”

Steven McGauley, 46, was charged Sept. 5 with first-degree murder. Police say the victim, 43-year-old Steven Flack, of Belleville, was a guest at the McGauley home on the weekend of Sept. 3, when McGauley began attacking his own wife.

Police say Flack was shot when he tried to intervene on behalf of McGauley’s wife, Mary.

New details about the case are contained in a police affidavit made public this week.

The affidavit by Glen Carbon Detective Sgt. Brian Koberna states that a witness, John Kibbins, was at the home at the time of the shooting. Kibbins told police the shooting happened in the backyard of the residence, and that McGauley shot Flack “several times” in the chest.

“Kibbins advised that Steven McGauley then unloaded his revolver, placing the shell casings in his hand, and went back into the residence,” Koberna wrote in the affidavit. “Kibbins advised that Steven McGauley looked at him and said, ‘I’m going to jail for a long time.’”

Kibbins told police the shooting followed a fistfight between McGauley and Flack in the yard. Kibbins told police that McGauley at one point went into the house, then exited the house with the gun and “charged at Flack.”

Kibbins called the police, who arrived at the Hillcrest Drive residence at 7:29 p.m. McGauley was taken into custody, and Flack was taken to Anderson Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

At the time of the shooting, McGauley was under court supervision for a domestic violence charge, according to court records.

Court documents show McGauley has a record of domestic battery, domestic violence, assault and disorderly conduct.

Steven McGauley was charged with domestic battery in May and ordered not to harass, intimidate or interfere with his wife and to attend a Partner Abuse Intervention Program, according to court records.

McGauley pleaded guilty to the count of domestic battery Aug. 8 and was sentenced to one year of supervision.

McGauley remained at the Madison County Jail as of Wednesday. He was being held without bail.

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "He killed a house guest, police say, then said he’s ‘going to jail for a long time’."