Eagle Rock Postmaster Facing Federal Charges:

-

Michael Joe Stubblefield is facing federal charges

The postmaster of a small town in Barry County has been charged in federal court with conspiring to rob or burglarize a convenience store and steal drugs and other valuable packages from the postal service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.


Michael "Mike" Joe Stubblefield, 48, of Cassville, was charged Friday with conspiring to interfere with interstate commerce by threats or violence in connection with planning an alleged robbery of Uncle Roy’s convenience store in Eagle Rock.


According to an affidavit supporting the complaint, Stubblefield met with two confidential informants working with law enforcement on several occasions.


The complaint alleges conversations involved coordinating a staged robbery or burglary at the convenience store by using an employee’s access information to gain entry after the store was closed.
When that employee was fired, Stubblefield abandoned the plan of a staged robbery and turned his attention toward a possible take-over robbery, according to the affidavit.

According to court documents, "Stubblefield was involved in drug trafficking as well as a scheme in which he had secured the cooperation of at least one female United Parcel Service (UPS) driver who would provide information to Stubblefield concerning valuable items being delivered by UPS.  Through the scheme, the UPS driver, not know by either confidential informant, would contact Stubblefield when she had items of value, such as gold or jewelery, destined for a UPS drop location used by UPS to transfer packages from one driver to another in a local area.  Stubblefield would then task another participant in the scheme to go to the known location and steal the packages."

Eagle Rock post office

To prove their claim, the informants reported that Stubblefield had obtained a shipment of gold and valuable watches and had them hold the watches. "Stubblefield placed the watches in a pre-labeled USPS box and then he sealed the box with USPS tape,"  while he was at work as a United States postal employee. 

The confidential informants taped two meetings with Stubblefield on March 27th, according to the affidavit.  During the first recording made at the post office, "only a limited amount of criminal matters were discussed as customers frequented the facility during the recording." 

During the second recording made at a dinner meeting, "Stubblefield freely discussed the proposed robbery of Uncle Roy's."  Stubblefield told the confidential informants that they could fill up their gas tanks and portable fuel tanks and that they would get their money back after they robbed the store.

"In addition to discussing the planned robbery, Stubblefield also described how those taking part in the robbery could place cash, masks, and other items related to the robbery in USPS packaging Stubblefield would provide to those committing the robbery.  Additionally, Stubblefield again discussed his utilization of co-conspirator/s at UPS, as well as drug activity he was personally involved in."

Subblefield described in detail drug shipments he had received in the past and told the CI's he was expecting a shipment of Oxycodone, Morphine and another unknown drug to be delivered in a few days, according to court documents.

On March 29th, the FBI and the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General teamed up with Barry County authorities in the investigation.

The confidential informants took investigators to a storage locker where the watches had been secured to "confirm the existence of the watches and the accompanying packaging described."   Inside the box authorities found "five pocket watches that appeared to be very old and of significant weight."

The confidential informants had another meeting with Stubblefield and other alleged co-conspirators on March 29th at Stubblefield's home.

About 6:45 p.m. the confidential informants contacted FBI agents to tell them they were en route to Rosie's Diner in Stella to have dinner with Stubblefield and the other alleged co-conspirators, "although the cooperating witnesses did not know the name of the other co-conspirators."

Rosie's diner at 778 Ozark Street - Stella, MO

Shortly after 8 p.m. federal agents went to Rosie's diner where they confirmed that vehicles belonging to Stubblefield, the cooperating witnesses and another vehicle whose owner could not be identified through state records were parked.

Stubblefield recently posted on the restaurant's facebook page, "Best food I've had in a long time."

When the cooperating witnesses met with authorities about 10 p.m. that night they told them the purpose of the meeting was to discuss plans for the robbery of Uncle Roy's at 10 p.m. on March 30th. 

"During dinner, Stubblefield introduced two co-conspirators to the two confidential informants and then excused himself from the group after telling the four to come up with a plan for the robbery, utilizing the knowledge of CI#1, who was formally employed at the convenience store. "

The cooperating witnesses told authorities that the plan was to place fuel inside a tire and "roll it down a prominent hill" some distance from Eagle Rock.  An emergency call would then be made by another participant saying a car had traveled off the road and was on fire.

Stubblefield, who has a scanner, would then contact the cooperating witnesses and co-conspirators when authorities had been dispatched to the staged accident scene so they could rob the convenience store.

 Stubblefield is being held without bond in the Greene County jail.

  

Two Women Charged With First Degree Murder In Connection To Missing Highlandville Man:

-

-

Two women from Stone County have been charged with murder for the death of a Highlandville man who had been missing for about a month.

Stone County prosecutor Matt Selby charged Teri Dean-Morrison and Cheryl C. Crawford today with first-degree murder for the death of forty six year-old Carl Glenn Anderson.

Carl Glenn Anderson

Anderson was last seen February 23rd at a gathering at house at 263 Akita Run, the home of Dean-Morrison, Crawford and Eugene "Gene" Crider, which is in Stone County. Dean-Morrison told deputies she took Anderson back to his home in Highlandville, which is in Christian County. Anderson's mother said he never returned home and she filed a missing person's report on February 25th.

The probable cause statement says that cell phone records led authorities to get a search warrant for Earl Kearney's property at 55 Kearney Lane off of Highway OO near Kimberling City on March 19th.  "By examining the phone records and cross referencing the cell phone towers, it led Detectives to a property located on Highway OO in Stone County which belongs to Earl Kearney, a known associate of Teri Dean. The phone records showed that one or more of the three suspects spent a considerable amount of time at the property of Earl Kearney on the evening of Thursday, February 23rd and Friday, February 24th."
-

55 Kearney Lane (google)

-
During a second search of Kearney's, who is a former boyfriend of Dean-Morrison's, property on March 21st authorities found human remains which were sent to the Missouri Highway Patrol crime lab and confirmed as Anderson's late Friday (03-23-12) evening.
-
Sources say the remains were "unidentifiable" and authorities were able to get a DNA match from human tissue recovered from Kearney's property.
-

Courtesy: Emily Rittman

-
Stone County deputies served a search warrant at Dean-Morrison's home near Hootentown on March 6th and seized several items, according to court documents.
-
During the execution of the warrant, "A large amount of blood was found in several locations on the ceiling in the master bedroom. The carpet flooring, exterior windows and interior door in the master bedroom had recently been replaced. The ceiling had been cleaned and ceiling texture removed in an attempt to conceal the visibility of the blood stains. Samples of the blood were taken from various areas in the master bedroom, including ceiling, ceiling fan housing and ceiling fan blades."
-

263 Akita Run (courtesy Emily Rittman)

-

Investigators found a broken window frame with dried blood on it in the laundry room of the house, a broken door frame with blood on it and a piece of broken wooden trim with dried blood, according to court documents. "The blood sample(s) were sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory for identification purposes (DNA) and it was determined that the blood belonged to Carl Anderson."
-
Authorities found several receipts for the purchase of household cleaning supplies, ceiling texture, carpet and windows that were made within 24 hours of Anderson's last known contact with Dean-Morrison, Crider and Crawford.

-

Deputies have allegedly obtained video footage of  Dean-Morrison and Crider purchasing the above mentioned items, "to conceal the blood of Carl Anderson."
-

When deputies went back to talk to Dean-Morrison and her roommates, Crider and Crawford the trio had disappeared. They were arrested March 9th near the Lake of the Ozarks and charged with tampering with physical evidence, according to court records.

Dean-Morrison and Crawford were arraigned on the murder charges this morning and are both being held on $1 Million dollars bond each.

Eugene K. Crider

-
Crider remains charged with tampering with physical evidence and could face additional charges, according to Selby.

Hill says the investigation into Anderson's murder is ongoing and asks anyone with information in the case to contact his office at 417-357-6116 or you can e-mail an anonymous tip by following this link.
-------------

Complete news release issued by Sheriff  Richard Hill: 
-
Today, Teri Dean, and Cheryl Crawford are being charged with Murder in the First Degree in the death of Carl Anderson. Investigation continues on Eugene Crider with the possibility of charges being filed against him at a later date.

The facts supporting these charges are as follows:
On February 25, 2012, The Christian County Sheriff's Office took a report of a missing person, identified as Carl Glenn Anderson. Carl was last seen at the residence of Teri Dean, Eugene Crider and Cheryl Crawford, all living at 263 Akita Run, Stone County, Missouri on February 23, 2012.

On March 6, 2012, Stone County Detectives executed a search warrant at the residence on Akita Run. During the execution of the warrant, a large amount of blood was found in several locations on the ceiling in the master bedroom. The carpet flooring, exterior windows and the interior door in the master bedroom had recently been replaced. It was observed the ceiling had been cleaned and ceiling texture removed in an attempt to conceal the visibility of the blood stains. Samples of the blood were taken from various areas in the master bedroom, including the ceiling, ceiling fan housing and ceiling fan blades.

The blood sample(s) were sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory for identification purposes (DNA). It was determined the blood samples were that of Carl Anderson.

On March 9, 2012, Teri Dean, Gene Crider and Cheryl Crawford were arrested in Lake Ozark, Missouri. At the time of their arrest, their cell phones were seized and later searched. By examining the phone records and cross referencing the cell phone towers, it led Detectives to a property located on Highway OO in Stone County which belongs to Earl Kearney, a know associate of Teri Dean. The phone records showed that one or more of the three suspects spent a considerable amount of time at the property of Earl Kearney on the evening of Thursday, February 23rd and Friday, February 24th.

-
Our investigation is still ongoing so we are not at liberty to answer any questions at this time.

~BREAKING - DEVELOPING~Stone County Authorities Call News Conference About Missing Man:

-

Carl Anderson has been missing for over a month

-

Authorities in Stone County have called a news conference for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow (03-27-12) to discuss new developments in the case of a missing Highlandville man.

Forty six year-old Carl Glenn Anderson was last seen February 23rd at a gathering at 263 Akita Run, which is in Stone County. Teri L. Dean-Morrison told deputies she took Anderson back to his home in Highlandville, which is in Christian County. Anderson's mother said he never returned home and she filed a missing person's report on February 25th.

Earlier this month Terri Dean-Morrison, Eugene K. Crider and Cheryl Crawford were charged with tampering with physical evidence in connection to Anderson's disappearance after a large amount of the missing man's blood was found inside the Morrison's house on Akita Run.
-
Sheriff Richard Hill says authorities found additional evidence connected to Anderson at a rural property off of Highway OO near Kimberling City last week, but said more information will be released at the news conference.

-
Authorities found several receipts for the purchase of household cleaning supplies, ceiling texture, carpet and windows that were made within 24 hours of Anderson's last known contact with Dean-Morrison, Crider and Crawford.
-
Sources close to the investigation say additional charges could soon be filed against the trio and additional suspects in the case.

Harrison Man Charged With Threatening To Kill Judge, Lawyer:

-

Todd Thomason could face additional charges

A man from Harrison, Arkansas, is behind bars after allegedly threatening to kill a circuit court judge, an attorney and several Boone County deputies.

Sheriff Danny Hickman says Todd R. Thomason, 51, threatened to kill Circuit Judge John Putnam, Harrison attorney Johnny Nichols and others during a 12-minute recorded telephone call on Friday (03-23-12), according to a news release.

Judge John Putnam

Hickman had deputies watch Thomason’s residence while an arrest affidavit was prepared. "Because of concerns about taking Thomason into custody at his home, Sergeant Marc Arnold began communicating with Thomason via telephone and email in an attempt to lure him out. After a number of communications over a period of hours, Thomason agreed to meet Arnold and left his house."

The sheriff says Thomason was taken into custody when he left his home to meet Arnold.

Thomason has been charged with threatening a judicial officer and is being held without bond in the Boone County jail. Additional charges are anticipated, according to Hickman.

Merriam Woods Man Sentenced To Prison For Abusing Infant Son:

-

Aaron Proctor has been sentenced to 4 years in prison




A twenty six year-old man from Merriam Woods has been sentenced to four years in prison for abusing his infant son.

Taney County prosecutor Jeff Merrell says Aaron L. Proctor called authorities in July of 2011 to say he could no longer care for his son and wanted to relinquish custody to the state. When workers with the Missouri Children's Division took the little boy to the hospital for a check up it was discovered that he had a broken leg. That injury was approximately two weeks old, according to doctors.

When investigators first interviewed Proctor he told them the boy suffered the injury when a dog stepped on his leg. However, he later told authorities he was responsible for his son's injury but "he didn't think it was that bad."

Proctor was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child after authorities found several animals in the filthy house the baby had been living in. He was sentenced to four years in prison on that charge that will be served concurrent (at the same time) to the child abuse sentence.

Jury Recommends Death Sentence For Collings:

-

The jury says Collings should die for Rowan Ford's 2007 murder

The jury has recommended the death penalty for Chris Collings after finding him guilty of first-degree murder earlier this week for the 2007 murder of nine year-old Rowan Ford.

It took the jury about 45 minutes to make the unanimous decision. Under Missouri law, if any juror had been opposed to sentence, the jury would have been forced to sentence Collings to life without parole.

The jury found Rowan Ford's death involved torture and happened because she was a witness to her own rape and could have identified Collings as her rapist.

Rowan Ford was 9 years-old at the time of her murder

It took jurors about four hours on Tuesday (03-20-12) to decide that the state proved that Collings kidnapped Ford from her bedroom in Stella and took her to his trailer near Wheaton where he raped and strangled the fourth grader before dumping her body in a cave in McDonald County.

Ford went missing on November 2nd and her body was found in Fox cave on November 9th, 2007.

Ford’s stepfather, David Spears, is also facing capital murder charges connected to the little girl’s death. He is scheduled to stand trial in November in Pulaski County where the case was moved on a change of venue.

Just because the jury has recommended the sentence does not mean the judge has to abide by their decision.
-
When someone is placed on death row they receive an automatic appeal to their sentence and post-trial appeals in a death penalty case normally take years. There are currently forty six prisoners on death row in Missouri, with one prisoner's case dating back to 1982. Of the sixty eight cases of men executed in the sate since 1989 it took between six and fourteen years from sentencing for them to receive the lethal injection.
-
Collings is scheduled to be sentenced on May 11th.

BREAKING~Seaman Pleads Guilty To Dulin Murder:

-

Seaman could be sentenced to 21.5 years

A Stone County man has pleaded guilty to the 2006 murder of David Dulin.

Tim Seaman, 37, of Crane, pleaded guilty to amended charges of second-degree murder for the November 29, 2006 shooting death of  53 year-old Dulin.  Seaman was originally charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and robbery.

The case in Dulin's murder has taken many twists and turns in the five years since it was committed.  

In 2008, Zackary Lee Stewart, of Hurley, was tried and convicted in Greene County of first-degree murder for Dulin's murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

During Stewart's trial a key piece of evidence was questioned by Dulin's family. Stone County prosecutor Matt Selby said a bloody hat recovered at the crime scene belonged to Dulin. Family members approached Selby and told him they had never seen their loved one in possession of the hat.
-

Stone County prosecutor Matt Selby

-
Selby expedited DNA analysis on the hat in the middle of Stewart's trial. When the preliminary analysis came back it was a bombshell.  It connected DNA to three people other than Stewart; Dulin, Stewart's brother-in-law Tim Seaman, and another unknown person.

During closing arguments in Stewart's trial, Selby argued that the preliminary DNA information from the bloody hat reflected a DNA "hit" to Seaman made by an investigative database. He stressed that it was not a DNA "match" confirmed by comparing it with Seaman's actual DNA.

Seaman's DNA was in the CODIS database because of previous convictions of leaving the scene of an accident and property damage.  According to online court records, Seaman has also pleaded guilty to assault, trespass, possession of marijuana, operating a vehicle without a license and not paying child support.

The Missouri Supreme Court reversed Stewart's conviction in 2010. He was scheduled to be retried for Dulin's murder on February 14, 2011, however Selby announced on December 3rd of 2010 that he was dismissing those charges saying he'd received "more information" about Dulin's death.

That information came from John Mills.  Mills was being held in the Stone County jail on weapons charges when he was offered immunity for his testimony against Seaman.

John Mills was offered immunity for his testimony

Mills told investigators that he and Seaman had been out partying when they made the decision to rob someone so they could buy drugs.  On their way to rob Dulin, the pair stopped at Mills' home and got a gun, according to statements made in court today by Selby.
-
Selby offered Mills immunity while he was preparing for the new trial (clarification:  it was Stewart's trial he was preparing for,) believing he could provide evidence that could help convict Seaman. Instead, Mills shocked Selby and his office investigator when he revealed he was one of the men that took part in killing Dulin.
-
“That was a bombshell,” Selby said. “We thought that he had some knowledge, but in no way did I think he was a participant.  It's an ironclad deal unless we find he wasn't completely truthful with us.”
 -
Shortly after midnight on November 29, 2006, Dulin called 9-1-1 and told the dispatcher that two men in their 20's and 30's had broken into his home and shot him in the head with his own .22 pistol.

-

Dave Dulin's house on Tin Can Hollow

-
Dulin had been shot twice in the head and twice in the torso and as he lay dying in his home at 403 Tin Can Hollow he told the 9-1-1 operator that he did not know who shot him, but stated that the assailants were from Hurley and that one of the men was the "Eby girl's boyfriend."

Seaman was married, but separated from, Candy Eby-Seaman at the time of Dulin's murder.

According to the probable cause statement filed with the murder charge against Seaman, "A black semi automatic Walther that belonged to Dulin was missing from Dulin's home."

A gun that was recovered during an investigation in Springfield on February 17, 2007, was sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab for testing. Shell casings found near Dulin's body matched the gun recovered in Springfield.

On August 20, 2008, Detective Karl Wagner interviewed a man from Hurley who told him, "He had purchased a black .22 with a laser light on it from Timothy in the fall about two years earlier....after David's murder."

In court today it was revealed that when someone asked Seaman what was wrong with Mills the day after Dulin's murder he stated, "We were there when the old man was killed and he's not handling it very well.  You don't know what it's like to kill someone or be responsible for their death."

"I think it was important for the victim's family and for our community to finally hear someone take responsibility for Mr. Dulin's death," said Selby.
-
Seaman's attorney, Chris Hatley said, "Mills was their best piece of evidence.  My client was looking at the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole so that factored into our decision to accept the plea bargain."
-
For Kathleen Dulin-Ellerman there's not a day that goes by that she doesn't think of her brother, " I'm still waiting for justice.  It's been a long hard five years.
-
Mills is facing up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced for the weapons charge on April 26th in Stone County.
-
When Seaman pleaded guilty it was revealed that there was a plea agreement to a cap (total) of 21 and-a-half years for the plea, however, a judge is not bound by the agreement and could sentence Seaman to a greater term on May 11th.
 -

He will have to serve 85% before of whatever sentence is he given before he is eligible for parole.

~BREAKING~DEVELOPING~COLLINGS FOUND GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER OF ROWAN FORD:

-

Christopher Leroy Collings has been found guilty of first-degree murder for the November 2007 death on nine year-old Rowan Ford.

It took jurors about four hours to decide that the state proved that Collings kidnapped Ford from her bedroom in Stella and took her to his trailer near Wheaton where he raped and strangled the fourth grader with cord from a spool that he had in the back of his truck before dumping her body in a cave in McDonald County.

Ford went missing on November 2nd and her body was found in Fox cave on November 9th.
-
Jurors will begin the second phase of the trial tomorrow morning.  That is where there will be a mini-trial before jurors decide if Collings lives or receives the death penalty.  It is at this time that jurors will hear from friends and family members of Rowan and Collings.

Ford's stepfather, David Spears, is also facing first-degree murder charges connected to the little girl's death.  He is scheduled to stand trial in November in Pulaski County where the case was moved on a change of venue.

~UPDATED~Jury Now Deliberating Collings Fate:

-

Collings fate is now in juror's hands

The jury is now deliberating whether Christopher LeRoy Collings will live or die for killing nine year-old Rowan Ford in November of 2007.

During closing arguments this afternoon, Elizabeth Bock, who is with the Missouri Attorney Generals Office, told jurors that they had heard a lot about drugs and alcohol playing a part in Ford's murder, but Collings, 37, wasn't impaired enough to not be able to drive around looking for a place to dump the fourth grader's body and that he was cognizant enough when he got back to his farm to burn he and the little girls clothing, and the mattress on which he raped her.

Bock told jurors he raced the eight miles from his trailer near Wheaton on November 2nd to the little girls house in Stella before David Spears, who he had been partying with and who is also charged with murder in connection to his stepdaughter's death, arrived home. He threw the blanket off of Rowan before he kidnapped her knowing she would never need it again, Bock said.
-

Bock also wants jurors to remember that "Uncle Chris' went to Rowan's home a few days after the girl went missing, gave her mom a hug and offered to help her mother find the missing girl, knowing she was already dead.
-
Ford's body was found in a cave in Barry County one week after she disappeared.

Trailer where Rowan Ford was raped

Bock said Collings lied on his videotaped confession when he said Rowan cried a little during the sexual assault, "That girl was screaming.....she was screaming."

When he pulled the rope tight around Rowan's neck, Collings said "It seemed like hours," Bock reminded jurors of Collings own words from his taped confession.

Defense attorney's want jurors to convict Collings of second-degree murder. The say it comes down to their clients state of mind at the time of the murder. They say Collings takes full responsibility for Ford's murder, but it was a spur of the moment decision and not premeditated, nor did their client take the time to coolly reflect killing the girl.

In a death penalty trial there are two phases, the trial setting and then, if convicted of first-degree murder, jurors will hear more testimony before deciding on what punishment to impose...life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence.
-
UPDATE 6:25 P.M.

Jurors have asked for pictures of Collings property.  In addition they had questions about "the truck and spool (the rope from which Collings killed Ford.)

They have also asked for dinner, which could be an indicator of a long night.

UPDATE 7:22 P.M.:

Jurors asked to review, and are watching, one of Collings taped confessions.

Barry County Woman Convicted In Murder For Hire Scheme In Federal Court:

-

Katherine A. Mock

A woman from Cassville has been convicted in federal court of conspiracy to commit murder and murder for hire.
-
Federal prosecutors say Katherine A. Mock, 58, of Cassville, conspired with Elain KayYoung, 57, of Novinger, to kill Young's husband, Melvin "Beau" Griesbauer, in November of 2006.

A week after Griesbauer’s death, Kathy Mock was arrested for his murder.

Elain "Kay" Young

Two years after the homicide, Kay Young was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection to her husband's death.

-

Mock and Young became friends through dog breeding, according to friends of the women.

-

When investigator's interviewed Mock's son, Thomas Ponder, he said his mother told him Kay Young wanted her husband killed and there was a $10,000 payment to anyone who would kill him.
-
Court documents say Mock first tried to recruit someone referred to as “K.P.” to kill Griesbauer for $6,000 and then tried to get another person referred to as “T.P.” to murder the man for $10,000.
-
Mock allegedly left her Barry County home on March 22, 2006, and drove to the couple’s home in Novinger, according to court documents. Those same records say she stopped along the way and purchased a ski mask at Wal-Mart in Republic.

-

On March 23, 2006, two years after Griesbauer and Young exchanged vows, and not long after  returning from Iraq, 43 year-old Griesbauer was found shot in the head near a barn on his wife's property.

-

Some evidence recovered at the crime scene included a knit ski mask, containing Mock’s DNA, and a box of latex gloves which belonged to Young.
-
On March 24, 2006, a friend of Mock’s, who was unaware of Griesbauers murder, drove her to a Joplin hospital for mental help. That friend told authorities that Mock told her, "Young had given her “several hundred (hydrocodone and acetaminophen) pills with instructions to take some of these, “to receive a short term in a mental hospital and avoid a penitentiary sentence.”
-
On April 6, 2006, Mock was taken into custody at the mental health facility where she reportedly checked herself in to “avoid prison time.”
-
Kay Young is a descendant of John C. Novinger who founded the Adair County town that bears his surname. It was on the founding fathers property that Melvin "Beau" Griesbauer was gunned downed after he completed his late-night shift at a meat packing plant where he made about thirty-five grand a year.

Kay Young had been married three times before she wed Beau at Fort Leonard Wood in 2004. In all three of her previous marriages she took her previous husbands last names....but not Beau's.

Kay and Beau were married at FLW

Some say it was because she knew that he wouldn't be around for long.
-
Griesbauer, who had served as an LPN/Army Reserve Specialist and survived a tour in the desert, was insured to the max. His wife told friends he did so to make sure she would be taken care of if anything happened to him.
-
Detectives found a Novinger family heirloom rifle, a 30-30 Winchester lying near Griesbauer's body, but it was at weird angle for a suicide and it immediately raised the neck hairs of investigators.
-
By all appearances Kay Young was a stellar member of her community. She was a school superintendent, a class sponsor and a beloved teacher. She fostered children and championed Christian causes.
-
She also made donations to local 4-H clubs in “memory of her mother” Celia Hammons who died in 2000.
-
When the original family homestead was given to Kay in the months preceding Celia’s death, Kay’s siblings said their sister had turned their mother against them and restricted visitation with her.

With the town talking about Beau's murder and Celia Hammons death, some people took their suspicions to authorities who exhumed Celia's body for testing. There has been no word on what those results revealed.
-
Both Mock and Young could be sentenced to life in prison when they are sentenced later this year.

Vernon County Man Sentenced To Probation For His Part In 2009 Double Murder:

-

Leviathon Dipman will serve three years probation

A Vernon County man will serve three years supervised probation for his part in a 2009 double murder.


Prosecutor Lynn Ewing originally charged Leviathon Dipman, 20 of Nevada, with two counts of first degree murder, but amended those charges to second degree assault.


In May 2009, Kylie Leyva, 14, and Anne Reed, 18, were stabbed multiple times inside Reed's Nevada apartment.  Leyva was able to get out of the apartment and ran to a neighbors where she named Garrett Matthew Mason as her attacker before dying.

Kylie Leyva (l) and Anne "Annie" Reed

In March of 2011, Mason, 20 of Nevada, pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing his classmates and was sentenced to two life terms.  Those sentences will be served concurrently (at the same time.)

Garrett Matthew Mason is serving a life sentence for Leyva and Reed's murders

Ewing said, "It was highly unlikely we would have been able to prove first-degree murder in the case against Lipman.  What it came down to was the issue of whether he was actively involved in aiding and abetting in the murders or just involved in stupid teenage talk and encouraging Mason to kill the girls.  I worked with the girls' parents and they realized he wasn't criminally responsible, but agreed he needed to admit that his stupidity played a part in the deaths of their daughters."

No further charges are expected to be filed against anyone else in connection to Leyva and Reed's murder, according to Ewing.

Branson Man Pleads Guilty To Being Serial Bigamist:

-

Michael Steven Crow (mug shot TCSO)

A man from Branson has been sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty yesterday (03-19-12) to bigamy.

Taney County Prosecutor Jeff Merrell says Kelly Marie Crow, who was married to Michael Steven Crow, 43, from December of 2006 to April of 2011 started investigating her husband's past when she filed for divorce.

Investigators with the Hollister police department found two other marriage licenses for the man and  two other women; Kerry Lynn Ogden was married to Crow from April of 2000 to June of 2008 and the other from July of 2001 until present.

Merrell says, "This crime is rather rare, but can have a dramatic and devastating impact on families.  My sincerest sympathy goes out to the victims of this man's crimes."

Crow was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

Trial Of One Of Rowan Ford's Alleged Murderers Underway (PC Attached):

-

Chris Collings mug shot at the time of his arrest

Opening statements have been made and testimony is underway this afternoon in one of the most anticipated murder trials in the Ozarks in years.

Christopher Collings, 37, is charged with capital murder for November 2007 rape and strangulation of nine year-old Rowan Ford.

KSPR's Emily Rittman is tweeting live from the courtroom in Phelps County, where the case was moved on a change of venue.  The jury, which consists of seven women and five men (there are four alternates,) and took two weeks to pick in Platte County, were bused to Phelps County yesterday.

Before the jury even heard opening statements, defense attorney's asked the judge not to allow the prosecutor to show pictures of Rowan to the jury saying it could, "inflame the jury.  Cox's response to the court was he was not trying to inflame jurors.....merely identify the victim.  Judge Mary Sheffield will allow one school photograph of Rowan to be shown to jurors at this point in the trial.

(For probable cause statement against Collings click this link)

In his opening statements, Barry County prosecutor Johnnie Cox told jurors that Collings, Rowan's stepfather, David Spears (who reported the little girl missing at 5:41 on November 3rd,) and another friend of the men Nathan Mahurin had spent the day of November 2nd drinking and smoking pot.
-
Cox says Collings, who had lived at the girl's home for a period and had moved out about a week before Rowan went missing, kidnapped a sleeping Rowan from her bedroom in Stella.  Cox told jurors that the little girl did not wake up until the bottom half of her clothing was removed inside Collings dark trailer near Wheaton. After the sexual assault, and as Collings was guiding Rowan out of his trailer, she caught a glimpse of his face and he made the decision that he had to kill her and then choked the girl with a cord.   
-

Chris Collings most recent mug shot (Platte County SO)

-
He allegedly loaded the little girl's body in his truck and drove around for a bit before dumping her remains in a sinkhole in McDonald.

The official cause of the nine year-old girl's death was asphyxiation.

Cox said several agencies, including the FBI, searched for Ford until her body was found in Fox Cave on November 9th.

Defense attorney's told jurors that Collings, who knew Spears for about eight years before Rowan's murder, allegedly made four different unrecorded statements to authorities.  They say he felt disrespected by law enforcers so he sought out a friend of his, Wheaton police chief Clint Clark. 

The first statement is said to begin at 5:29 p.m. on November 9th, with the second getting underway shortly after 8 p.m. the same day.  Defense attorney's say he told investigators he "freaked out and acted alone.  Defense attorney's say interrogators "were relentless in trying to get Chris to say that someone else was involved, specifically David Spears.

The attorney's that are trying to save Collings life say their client consumed about thirty bottles of Smirnoff Black Ice and "smoked a joint the size of his thumb and doesn't remember anything.  "Whoever actually killed Rowan, Mr. Collings says it was he. This was an intentional killing. We are not arguing that. We're arguing about what was his state of mind," says Defense Attorney Janice Zembles, who wants jurors to come back with a second-degree murder conviction.
-

Rowan's mother, Colleen Munson

-
Prosecutors have called Colleen Munson, Rowan's mother, as the states first witness.  She broke down when she told jurors the last thing her little girl said to her, "She said bye...I love you, mommy - before Colleen left for work.
-
The states next witness is Nathan Mahurin.  Mahrin testified that he, Collings and Spears spent the afternoon drinking and getting high.
-

The states first law enforcement witness is Newton County chief deputy Chris Jennings.  Jennings testimony about the search for Rowan lasted a little over thirty minutes before the Judge called the court to recess for the night. 

Testimony resumes tomorrow morning.
-

Day two:
-

In day two of the capital murder trial of Christopher Collings, one of the men accused of raping and strangling Rowan Ford in November of 2007, jurors were shown graphic pictures of the dead girl and heard from law enforcement officers who investigated the case.
-
Newton County chief deputy Chris Jennings says Collings was sober and coherent when he was interviewed about his involvement in Rowan's disappearance, going so far as to offer help to Rowan's mother after he was interviewed by authorities. 

Newton County Lt. Trevor Williams told jurors that Collings was cooperative.  He says Collings told him that he (Collings,) Spears and Nathan Mahurin played pool and were drinking at Spears' house.  The trio left to go to Collings and stopped along the way and bought more alcohol. 

Collings told investigators he was so close to the family the fourth grader called him, "Uncle Chris."

The search for Rowan didn't start until late the day after the girl went missing, which Williams said he thought was "odd.

Defense attorney's say the Spears home was dirty and in disarray and pointed out that Rowan could not sleep in her bed because of a cockroach infestation.

Prosecutor Johnnie Cox told jurors that after Collings returned to his camper trailer after dumping Rowan's body in a sinkhole known as Fox cave he noticed there was blood from Rowan on his clothing and in the camper so he burned the mattress, he and Rowan's clothes....and the cord used to strangle the girl.

FBI agent James "Benny" StinnettCollings became a suspect because, "He was one of the last people to see Rowan Ford alive."

Stinnett told jurors that when he spoke to Collings, the same man who babysat and helped the little girl with her math homework, on November 5th he told him he believed Rowan's stepfather David Spears was involved in her disappearance.   Collings told authorities he would be willing to wear a wire to assist in their investigation, but that request never materialized.

During a search of the Spears home, a computer was seized after investigators saw pornography on it.  They also took Spears' mother's vehicle in to process for evidence.

Former McDonald County deputy Michael Hall, one of the deputies involved in finding the little girls body, told jurors he helped lower a fellow deputy into the sinkhole and when he came back up, "The color drained from his face when he looked back up at me. I then called my chief deputy and advised him....we possibly found the body of Rowan Ford."
-
Testimony resumes tomorrow morning:

Days 3 - 8:

Law enforcers continued to take the stand in the capital murder trial of Collings. 

Wheaton police chief Clint Clark told jurors that Collings confessed to him that he acted alone when he killed Rowan Ford. 

Former Barry County detective and current McDonald County sheriff Rob Evenson videotaped Collings confession.  On the tape, Collings maintained that he acted alone and said DNA evidence would prove it.

The state rested their case this morning (03-20-12) and defense attorney's in turn did the same. The only witness called by the defense was Rowan Ford's stepfather, David Spears, who is also charged with capital murder for the girls death. He invoked his fifth amendment privilege when he took the stand Saturday.

Jurors could get the case this afternoon after closing arguments, which are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.  Each side will have one hour to make final arguments to the jury.

In a death penalty trial there are two phases, the trial setting and then, if convicted, jurors will hear more testimony before deciding on what punishment to impose...life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence.

-
Spears is scheduled to stand trial for his part in his stepdaughter's murder in November in Pulaski County, where the case was moved on a change of venue.
-
03-20-12 5:09 p.m.:

Jury Now Deliberating Collings Fate:

-

Collings fate is now in juror's hands

The jury is now deliberating whether Christopher LeRoy Collings will live or die for killing nine year-old Rowan Ford in November of 2007.

During closing arguments this afternoon, Elizabeth Bock, who is with the Missouri Attorney Generals Office, told jurors that they had heard a lot about drugs and alcohol playing a part in Ford's murder, but Collings wasn't impaired enough to not be able to drive around looking for a place to dump the fourth grader's body and that he was cognizant enough when he got back to his farm to burn he and the little girls clothing, and the mattress on which he raped her.

Bock told jurors he raced the eight miles from his trailer near Wheaton to the little girls house in Stella before David Spears, who he had been partying with and who is also charged with murder in connection to his stepdaughter's death, arrived home. He threw the blanket off of Rowan before he kidnapped her knowing she would never need it again, Bock said.

Trailer where Rowan Ford was raped

Bock said Collings lied on his videotaped confession when he said Rowan cried a little during the sexual assault, "That girl was screaming.....she was screaming."

When he pulled the rope tight around Rowan's neck, Collings said "It seemed like hours," Bock reminded jurors of Collings own words from his taped confession.

Defense attorney's want jurors to convict Collings of second-degree murder. The say it comes down to their clients state of mind at the time of the murder. They say Collings takes full responsibility for Ford's murder, but it was a spur of the moment decision and not premeditated nor did their client take the time to coolly reflect killing the girl.
-
In a death penalty trial there are two phases, the trial setting and then, if convicted, jurors will hear more testimony before deciding on what punishment to impose...life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence.

~UPDATED~Jury Seated For Salazar Trial, Convicted:

-

A jury has been seated and opening statements for both side have been made in the case of a Carthage father who is accused killing his son in February of 2010.

After two requests for a change of venue and requests that the jury be sequestered, the jury was seated this afternoon.  Two jury pools were called for the trial, one for the morning consisted of approximately 62 jurors.  The afternoon pool had 63; however those jurors were dismissed after a jury was successfully seated from the morning pool, according to Jasper County circuit clerk Linda Williams.

Prosecutors say Eddie Salazar Sr. lied when he first told authorities that masked men broke into his house on Mound Street and kidnapped his son eight-month-old son, Eddie Jr., while the baby's mother was at work.

Salazar's claims prompted a statewide Amber alert for the baby, and after two days of searching for the infant his body was found wedged near a tree in the Spring River.

Jasper County prosecutor Dean Dankleson maintains Salazar lied because he beat his son to death and tossed his body in the river in an attempt to cover up the crime while the infant's mother was at work.

Testimony is scheduled to get underway tomorrow morning.

If Salazar is convicted of second-degree murder he faces from 10 to 30 (life) years in prison.

UPDATE 03-15-12:


Prosecutors called law enforcers and the grandmother of the baby, who said he was in good health when he left her care earlier in the day he went missing.

Defense attorney's for Salazar rested their case without calling a single witness and after three hours of deliberations jurors returned a guilty verdict.

Eddie Salazar Sr. is scheduled to be sentenced next month in Jasper County.

~UPDATED~Three People Arrested For Tampering With Evidence In Connection To Missing Highlandville Man:

-

Three people have been arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence in connection to a man who has been missing for over two weeks.

Forty six year-old Carl Glenn Anderson was last seen February 23rd at a gathering at 263 Akita Run, which is in Stone County. Teri L. Dean-Morrison told deputies she took Anderson back to his home in Highlandville, which is in Christian County.  Anderson's mother said he never returned home and she filed a missing person's report on February 25th.
-

Authorities need your help in locating Carl Anderson

Stone County deputies served a search warrant at Dean-Morrison's home near Hootentown on Tuesday (03-06-12) and seized several items, according to court documents.

During the execution of the warrant, "A large amount of blood was found in several locations on the ceiling in the master bedroom. The carpet flooring, exterior windows and interior door in the master bedroom had recently been replaced. The ceiling had been cleaned and ceiling texture removed in an attempt to conceal the visibility of the blood stains. Samples of the blood were taken from various areas in the master bedroom, including ceiling, ceiling fan housing and ceiling fan blades."

-

Dean-Morrison's house at 263 Akita Run

-

Investigators found a broken window frame with dried blood on it in the laundry room of the house, a broken door frame with blood on it and a piece of broken wooden trim with dried blood, according to court documents.  "The blood sample(s) were sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory for identification purposes (DNA) and it was determined that the blood belonged to Carl Anderson."
-

Authorities found several receipts for the purchase of household cleaning supplies, ceiling texture, carpet and windows that were made within 24 hours of Anderson's last known contact with Dean-Morrison, Crider and Crawford.
-

Deputies have allegedly obtained video footage of Teri Dean-Morrison and Eugene "Gene" Crider purchasing the above mentioned items, "to conceal the blood of Carl Anderson."

When deputies went back to talk to Dean-Morrison and her roommates, Crider and Cheryl C. Crawford the trio had disappeared.  They were arrested last night near the Lake of the Ozarks, said Stone County prosecutor Matt Selby.

Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle says Anderson has chronic health issues, "that require daily medication."

Gideon says, "We're getting mixed signals from people about what happened and would like to talk to anyone who has information about Carl Anderson's disappearance."

Anderson, who is still considered a missing person at this time, is 5-feet-10, has blue eyes and weighs 210 pounds. He was last seen wearing khaki cargo pants, a black sleeveless T-shirt and black cap. The cap has a "Hooligans" bar insignia on it.

If you have any information that can help authorities, you're asked to call the Stone County Sheriff's office at 417-357-6116 or the Christian County Sheriff's officer at 417-581-2332 or 9-1-1.  Or you can e-mail an anonymous tip by following this link.

Dean-Morrison, Crawford and Crider are each being held in the Stone County jail on a $20,000 cash only bond.
-
UPDATE 03-11-12:

Sheriff Richard Hill says deputies searched the area of the Akita Run house today with cadaver dogs for Anderson and our his remains with no luck.

If you have any information that can help authorities locate Anderson's remains you're urged to call 417-357-6116 or 9-1-1.

Jury Seated For Man Accused Of Raping, Murdering Rowan Ford:

-

Christopher Collings is facing the death penalty

A jury has been seated for the capital murder trial of one of the men accused of raping and strangling nine year-old Rowan Ford in November of 2007.

Barry County prosecutor Johnnie Cox says the jury of seven women and five men (there are four alternates) for Christopher Collings' trial were sworn in about 6 this evening (03-09-12.) Opening statements will begin Monday with testimony slated to begin either late Monday or Tuesday.

The jury was picked in Platte County and will be sequestered in Phelps County, where the case was moved on a change of venue.  The jury had to be picked outside of southwest Missouri after a mistrial was declared last May when attorney's on both sides could not agree on a jury in Phelps County after both sides utilized multiple strikes, leaving not enough potential jurors to meet legal requirements.

Rowan Ford

The first witness expected to be called to the stand will be those who took the missing person's report on Rowan.  Then it is expected that Wheaton police chief Clint Clark, who was a friend of Collings, and whom Collings sought out and allegedly confessed to will be called.

Followed by former Barry County detective, and the current Sheriff of McDonald County, Rob Evenson.  Evenson is the law enforcer who interviewed and videotaped Collings alleged confession.

Cox says Collings, who is a friend of the girls stepfather, David Spears, kidnapped Rowan from her bedroom in Stella and took her back to his trailer in Barry County where he viciously raped the little girl. Court documents say that Speasr went to Collings trailer and took part in the rape and murder of his stepdaughter.

Barry County prosecutor Johnnie Cox

The trial was originally scheduled for a month, but jury selection took 2 weeks, and Judge Mary Sheffield has indicated that she is prepared to give attorney's up to a week longer than the projected end date of March 23rd, according to Cox.

Spears is scheduled to stand trial later this year.