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James "Bo" McNeely

In December of 2009 five members of a family members from Laddonia were implicated in the murder of a drifter from Ohio.  Three of them have now pleaded guilty to taking part in killing twenty year-old James "Bo" William Boyd McNeely.

There are conflicting reports as to how Chester Clay "C.J." Harvey Jr., 43, met Bo McNeely but the end result remains the same. 

Chester "C.J." Clay Harvey (mug shot ACSO)
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Harvey was a long haul truck driver and told the Associated Press that he and McNeely hatched a drug scheme after he picked the man up in California.  Harvey told investigators that his family was in dire financial straits because one of his children needs daily dialysis treatment and they owed creditors more than $30,000.

McNeely's mother, Vernia Bowen, says her son was a friend of  Harvey's son Chad and that the boys hitchhiked from Columbus, Ohio to Missouri.

Those charged in connection to McNeely's murder are: Chester Clay "C.J." Harvey Jr., 39, his wife Angela Dawn Harvey, 36; the Harvey's oldest son Chad Michael Harvey, 21; Jordan Harvey, who was 14 years-old at the time of the murder, and Ethan Harvey who was sixteen at the time. 

Three men from Audrain County Robert Nicholas "Nick" Allen, 53; Jackie Don Moss, 45; and Darrill Kirtley Lynn, 46, were charged with kidnapping with the intent of terrorizing in connection to McNeely's death.


Angela Dawn Harvey (mug shot ACSO)

According to court records a conference call between C.J. and Angela Harvey, and Darrill Lynn took place on December 16th.  The Harvey's asked Lynn to kidnap McNeely because he "needed to be taken care of so he couldn't come back and harm them."
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C.J. Harvey was in Waco, Texas, and in transit home when the conference call took place.

 Timeline in McNeely's murder (courtesy of KRCG)
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Darrill K. Lynn (mug shot ACSO)

Court documents reveal that on December 17, 2009, Darrill Lynn, Nick Allen and  Jackie D. Moss, kidnapped McNeely from the Harvey's home and held him against his will at Lynn's house in Farber.
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C. J. Harvey told authorities he had a falling out with Bo McNeely after the younger man allegedly became violent with his wife and three of his sons — a 7-year-old and two teens charged in the killing.
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After returning home that night, C.J. Harvey and his son Chad went to Lynn's house - bound McNeely with duct tape and took him back to the Harvey home in Laddonia.


Chad M. Harvey (mug shot ACSO)

Chester and Chad Harvey told investigators that they put McNeely, who was still bound, on a filthy mattress in the basement where he was tortured for 24 hours.  Bo McNeely was kicked, stomped and repeatedly beaten.  They also threatened the young man with a loaded shotgun, according to court records.

On the night of December 18th, authorities say McNeely was bound to a chair and suffocated with a black trash bag that C.J. Harvey put over his head.  Chad and Jordan Harvey and another person strangled him with an electrical wire.

Investigators say Angela Harvey then instructed her husband to wrap McNeely's body in a tarp in an effort to minimize evidence.  After wrapping McNeeley's body, per Angela Harvey's instructions, C.J. and Chad then transported McNeely's body to the elder Harvey's tractor trailer parked near Vandalia and placed him in the trailer's refrigerated compartment.

The Missouri Highway Patrol got a tip three days after McNeely's murder, saying they would find McNeely's body in Harvey's big rig.

When cops went to question C.J. Harvey and search the home on December 22nd the family barricaded themselves in their house and were in a 20 hourr standoff with authorities.

Jordan Harvey now says he stood guard over McNeely before the killing and held him down while his father suffocated him. Jordan Harvey, who is now sixteen and was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder today (04-12-11)  in Audrain County Circuit Court.


Jordan Harvey (mug shot ACSO)

In exchange for his guilty plea prosecutors dropped kidnapping charges against him. As part of the plea deal he will be sentenced as a juvenile and will be out of jail by the time he is twenty one.
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C.J. Harvey pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, armed criminal action, kidnapping and abandonment of a corpse yesterday (04-11-11) and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When C. J. Harvey Jr. took the stand he told the judge he takes full responsibility for McNeely's murder and hopes that it will help his wife and children who are still charged in McNeely's murder.

While on the stand Harvey said, “I’m taking full responsibility for all crimes related to the death of James McNeely.  I recognize that what I did to him was wrong and that he is a victim.  I ask that the court and the state have mercy on my wife and sons.  These crimes were committed because of my decisions and my actions.  My wife and sons had no control or choice.  It’s not fair that their lives be destroyed because of my decisions.  They are victims, too.”

Chad Harvey, who is now twenty, pleaded guilty last October to second-degree murder, kidnapping and abandonment of a corpse.  He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Angela Harvey and a third son, Ethan, who was 16 at the time, also have been charged with murder, kidnapping and armed criminal action. She is due in court for motion hearing next Monday in Boone County and is scheduled to stand trial in October.


Angela Harvey - Darrill Lynn - Jackie Don Moss - Robert "Nick" Allen

Linn is scheduled to appear in court in May; there are no scheduled hearings for Moss, according to online court records. Allen is scheduled to stand trial in June.

McNeely grew up in Martin County, Kentucky and had recently moved to Columbus, Ohio before coming to Missouri. He attended Marshall University and the Mountaineer Challenge Academy in Kingwood, West Virginia, and was interested in becoming a truck driver, according to family members.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

These people are hillbilly lowlifes. They did us all a favor and put there whole family away for life . Who in there right mind wld have a 14, 21, well nvmd that KIDS who would turn to there own CHILDREN to help w a murder of a completely innocent man who had his whole life ahead of him and because he asked this asshole mutt for a ride he deserved to die. I think everyone in this who has a fully developed frontal lobe which comes into full play around 23-24 yrs of age shld die the same way the poor young man did and than wrap them in toilet paper w a bag over there hick heads and leave them in a jail freezer so the rapists can have their way and the ones too young to know better and were jus following father hillbilly find some other kind of way of letting hem pay for there involvement cause none of those youngins would have the sand to do this at such a innocent age ...jus my opinion....

Anonymous said...

This is about James first he wasn't a drifter also the people who murdered him claim he was violent with his wife and sons that's bullshit he was the kindest person ever he had been in Florida from 08 to 10 he had gone back to Ohio for Christmas time he was kind out spoken full of life and energy and it's disrespectful to make him out to be some drifter drug dealing woman and child abuser that wasn't him at all and you didn't do a great blog on this cause if you did you would have updated it with the sentence of the wife

Anonymous said...

According to his wife, Bo was an amazing father who had cooked up a scheme just to get money to help her. He was about to go home and that tacked out bitch Angela was being paranoid on her drug high and made all the shit up that she was raped by Bo. That poor guy, who was just in the wrong place and found the wrong guy to hitch a ride with, died because of some drug addicted bitch and her family.

Unknown said...

I know the whole family very good people watched the young man grow up he moved away for a while but I knew him even sung at his funeral in a little church called Long Branch church pastored by the late Rev.Jim Bailey who also knew of Bobo I pray the fools who ended this kids life pay dearly for what they did God bless the McNeely family

Unknown said...

That is my family your talking about. I was there for all of it. I was the kid with dialysis. I wasn't involved at all I was there tho. At the time I was 9. But I have a relationship with my father he has so much guilt for he had done. And he is going to pay for it with staying in prison his whole life and watching his children grow up in prison. But for everyone saying McNeely was innocent. People change I watch him beat my brothers. And he tried to sexually harass them. That's the real reason they killed him. I'm not saying he deserves to die everyone deserves a second chance even a murderer should get a chance but be punished and put in prison and put thru intensive therapy and counseling. They were all cracked out to. It's crazy how sobriety and therapy changed my dad. It's whole messed up situation on both sides and I hope you see it a little differently then u did before. Much love Dylan Harvey.

Unknown said...

That is my family your talking about. I was there for all of it. I was the kid with dialysis. I wasn't involved at all I was there tho. At the time I was 9. But I have a relationship with my father he has so much guilt for he had done. And he is going to pay for it with staying in prison his whole life and watching his children grow up in prison. But for everyone saying McNeely was innocent. People change I watch him beat my brothers. And he tried to sexually harass them. That's the real reason they killed him. I'm not saying he deserves to die everyone deserves a second chance even a murderer should get a chance but be punished and put in prison and put thru intensive therapy and counseling. They were all cracked out to. It's crazy how sobriety and therapy changed my dad. It's whole messed up situation on both sides and I hope you see it a little differently then u did before. Much love Dylan Harvey.

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