UPDATES AT BOTTOM:
We've all seen or heard of the first 48, it's the crucial time when investigators hope to have a murder solved...or at least have questioned a suspect/s.
Within the first 48 hours of authorities investigating the brutal death of a reserve Jasper County, Mo, sheriffs deputy, and his wife, cops have discovered that the 911 call made to the sheriffs department to report the crime wasn't recorded.
Daniel Sheldon was concerned that his elderly parents didn't show up for church services and went to check on his folks. What he found was his mother dead, in a pool of blood in the hallway of the family home. He reportedly told a 911 operator that he believed his mother had been shot.
What officers found when they arrived at the scene spooked even investigators who thought they had seen it all. The family dog shot.......notes scrawled in the victims blood on walls, two people dead......IN CARTHAGE, MISSOURI!!!
The biggest thing in Carthage Missouri is the Precious Moments Chapel. It's a Mayberry kind of place, where people in the rural parts of the county still sleep with their doors unlocked.
Well, at least some of them did until Sunday.
Robert Charles Sheldon and Ellen Louise Ogden were married in 1957, the home that they shared was at the end of a dead end lane on North Powder Lane. Also located on the property was, The Old Cabin Shop, a business that the Sheldons sold guns and archery equipment out of for twenty eight years. Ironically, the property held the first courthouse in the county in the 1800's.
Sheriff Archie Dunn said that "he was misunderstood when he said that this was a hate crime, however, he says the crime scene was filled with hate." He doesn't believe it is related to race, gender or religion. He says whoever did it.... hated those people."
There are two entrances and exits to the property; both are now barricaded in yellow crime scene tape and guarded by deputies that were activated with The Tri-State Major Case Squad.
The squad includes thirty five officers from agencies in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.
Investigators are searching for a vehicle that was seen turning into the Sheldon's driveway sometime late Saturday evening, but Dunn wouldn’t release a make or model of the vehicle.
Dunn will not confirm,( this is an excellent interview by KTTS reporter, Jason Rima,) a cause of death in how the couple died. An autopsy on the Sheldon's will be conducted in Columbia.
They are survived by two sons and two daughters who are cooperating with investigators to develop leads into their parents deaths.
“It’s still going slow,” Dunn said. “We hope to get something earth-shattering today that will help the investigation.”
If you have any information that can help authorities with their investigation call the major case squad at 417-358-8177.
Visitation for the couple will be held at Fairview Christian Church, Carthage from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008. Funeral Services are scheduled forat 10 a.m., Friday, Oct. 17, 2008, also at Fairview Christian Church. Donations in the Sheldons’ honor may be made to the Homebuilders Class c/o Fairview Christian Church or c/o Ulmer Funeral Home.
UPDATE: Saturday, December 13, 2008
Reward Fund Set Up To Capture Robert And Ellen Sheldons Killer:
A reward fund has been set up by an anonymous donor to help catch and convict the killer/or killers in the double murder of an elderly couple in Jasper County.In early October, after 70-year-old Bob Sheldon and his wife, 71-year-old Ellen, didn't show up for church one of their sons went to check on them.
What he discovered was a gruesome crime scene; his mother lying on the floor in one room, his father in the another murdered along with the family dog.
The tri-state major case squad received dozens of calls and "persons of interest," but have yet to make any break in the case. Sheriff Archie Dunn told me "that they have received several leads in the case, but they are drying up."
The Sheldons owned and operated a gun shop The Old Cabin Shop on their property. If you would like to donate to the fund, you can do so at at any UMB Bank, or the local UMB bank at 300 Grant St., Carthage.
Donations are also being accepted at, The Old Cabin Shop at 155 N. Black Powder Lane, which is open on weekends.
If you know anything about the case you're asked to call the Jasper County Sheriff's Office tip line. That number is 417-781-TIPS (8477) and make sure you leave a detailed message so that detectives can follow up on your lead.
UPDATE Friday, February 13, 2009:
Still No Leads In Robert And Ellen Sheldon Murder:
It's been four months since Robert and Ellen Sheldon were murdered in their home near Carthage and the case remains unsolved.
It's been an agonizing ordeal for the family and friends of the Sheldon's to live with the thought that their loved ones were so brutally murdered in the home they shared for over thirty years.
Now the family, with help from anonymous donors, is offering a $20,000 reward for the tip that helps solve the heinous crime.
The Jasper County sheriff's department follows up on every lead they receive, but none have panned out as of yet.
Larry Ogden, Ellen Sheldon's brother lives in the couples home now. He and other family members are keeping the business that Robert loved so much, the Old Cabin Shop, that sits adjacent to their home open.
The Tri-State Major Case Squad was activated in at the beginning of the investigation of the Sheldon's murder, however, when early leads ran out they turned it over solely to the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.
Sheriff Archie Dunn believes the case will be solved, he just doesn't know when.
Some forensic evidence that was sent to the Missouri State Crime Lab in Jefferson City has not come back yet.
Robert Sheldon Jr. and Daniel (Danny) Sheldon say that a fund-raiser is planned to help increase the reward fund on March 12th at Fairview Christian Church in Carthage.
There will be a dinner and fellowship at 5 p.m., followed by a live auction at 7 p.m.
Food for the dinner is being provided by Cloud’s Meats and Savannah’s Restaurant in Carthage.
1 comments:
The part about the writing in blood on the wall is strictly a rumor. Noone who was actually there saw this.
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