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Three Teens Arrested in Double Killing, Fire
June 12, 2006 05:26 PM CDT
Suspect in Double Murder Allegedly Confesses; Woman Claims One Suspect Has Alibi
Trio Allegedly Planned to Rob, Kill Couple
MARSHALL, Mo. (AP) -- Three teens have been arrested in the beating deaths of a couple whose bodies were found in their burned home.
The teens -- Spencer Tromont Anderson, 18, Lyndale Devor Henderson, 17, and an unidentified 16-year-old juvenile, all of Marshall -- were arrested Saturday. The two older teens were arraigned Sunday on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree arson, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary.
The oldest teens are being held without bond. The st
atus of the youngest teen, whose case is being handled in juvenile court, was not released.
Authorities on Monday refused to say what led to the deaths of Richard D. Shepard, 78, and his wife, Jessie M. "Tiny" Shepard, 72, who suffered blows to their heads and necks before their home was set on fire. Firefighters discovered the bodies June 5 while battling the blaze.
Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Donald G. Stouffer would only say that the Shepards were at home when the teens entered, apparently asleep in their bedroom.
Capt. David Keller, a Pettis County Sheriff's detective, said the suspects' names came up in connection with several other burglaries that had been reported in the area. Keller was among more than 30 members of the Rural Major Case Squad who worked in shifts of up to 18 hours to develop leads in the case.
Sheriff Chuck Heiss, who led the squad, said the teens weren't able to account for their whereabouts. He described the killings as "probably the most sensel
ess crime I've ever seen and the most brutal."
Stouffer praised the squad's efforts.
"It would have been simply impossible for our community to generate the manpower to solve this case in such short order," he said. He called the victims two of the county's "most generous and faithful citizens."
The retirees were well known for their handiwork -- Richard for the wooden angels he made to adorn area houses and Jessie for the pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls she baked and sold from the home.
