Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXXVIII. Crimes and Punishment; Peace Officers and Public Defenders § 565.003. Culpable mental state may exist though different person killed--transfer of intent, when--time between act and death no defense

1. (1) The culpable mental state necessary for a homicide offense may be found to exist if the only difference between what actually occurred and what was the object of the offender's state of mind is that a different person or persons were killed.

(2) It shall not be a defense to a homicide charge that the identity of the person the offender intended to kill cannot be established. If the state proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the offender had the requisite mental state toward a specific person or a general class of persons who are not identified or who are not identifiable, such intent shall be transferred to a person who is killed by the offender while such mental state existed.