News / Society

Former US Marine kept woman in wooden box for months

Sunday, 24 May 2015 1:06 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 May 2015 1:49 AM ]

This photo provided by Missouri Police Department shows James Barton Horn.

Police have shot and killed a former US Marine accused of holding a woman captive in a wooden box for months at his home in western Missouri and then fatally shooting her and her teenage son.

Authorities said 47-year-old James Horn, who had been at large for about three weeks, was shot dead in the Kearn Wildlife Area in Pettis County on Saturday.

Henry County Sheriff Kent Oberkrom said Horn had fled after he was charged with murdering and kidnapping his former lover Sandra Sutton, who he held hostage inside a box on-and-off for four months.

Police said the suspect shot the 47-year-old Sutton and her 17-year-old son Zachary Sutton to death inside a relative's Clinton, Missouri, where she had moved after escaping the home she had shared with Horn.

Oberkrom said police found Horn hiding in a closet in an abandoned building, adding that officers were led to the area by a tip they received Saturday morning.

According to Sgt. Bill Lowe, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, when officers told Horn to surrender, he threatened them with a handgun.

Oberkrom said the death of Horn was a relief for the frightened community.

"A lot of folks are very scared of this individual," he said. "There's a huge amount of relief.”

GJH/GJH

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