The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Carthage, Jasper County

Discussion

July 9, 2009

Niece applauds sheriff for accepting assistance in murder case

By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

A niece of a Carthage couple slain last year confirmed Thursday that a St. Louis private investigations firm hired by relatives assisted in the probe that led to the arrests and charging of two suspects in the crime.

Laura Godenzi, of Anchorage, Alaska, said a group of relatives of Robert and Ellen Sheldon hired PDI Investigations to help the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department in the unsolved double homicide. She said they were “worried” that the case had dragged on for so long and there did not seem to be much progress being made.

The hiring of the private agency was never intended to imply any criticism of the job that sheriff’s investigators were doing, she said. She said the family simply thought the department might be able to use some assistance.

“There’s nothing wrong with needing help and nothing wrong with accepting it,” Godenzi told the Globe in a telephone interview.

She said the decision to hire Mike Barbieri’s firm to look into the case “seems to have worked out well.”

Darren J. Winans, 21, of rural Jasper, was arrested last week on a gun-theft charge related to the murders, and Matthew D. Laurin, 19, of Springfield, was arrested Tuesday night. Both men were charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed-criminal action, and a single count of first-degree burglary.

“I think that it was really great that Sheriff (Archie) Dunn and (Detective) Kevin Mitchell recognized that Mike could be someone that could be of assistance to them,” Godenzi said.

PDI Investigations’ exact role in the case remains uncertain. Barbieri told the Globe before a news conference Wednesday announcing the arrests that the firm developed certain informants in the area who provided information that ultimately led to the arrests.

The sheriff did not mention the private agency’s involvement during the news conference. Following the conference, he would not confirm or deny its involvement in the case. The sheriff said he had some legal concerns with discussing the matter and referred questions about it to the Jasper County prosecutor’s office.

The Globe has been unable to reach Prosecutor Dean Dankelson since the news conference.

Winans and Laurin pleaded innocent to the charges during a video arraignment Thursday morning in Jasper County Circuit Court. Both men waived formal arraignment and entered their pleas. They are being represented by public defenders.

The pair are accused of stabbing the Sheldons to death the night of Oct. 11 inside their home on Black Powder Lane west of Carthage. The sheriff has characterized the murders as a burglary gone wrong.

Godenzi said she and other relatives of the couple are “relieved” and “happy” to see the investigation produce arrests. But she was also somewhat surprised by the outcome, she said.

“I just thought there would be more to it than two young kids trying to rob people,” she said.

Staff writer Greg Grisolano contributed to this report.





Court date

The suspects’ next court date is set for July 22.

Text Only
Carthage, Jasper County
  • Jim-Spradling-obit.jpg Carthage attorney, reformer of revenue department, dies

    James R. Spradling, a Carthage attorney who was noted for his reform of the Missouri Department of Revenue in the 1970s, died at 5:50 a.m. Monday at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital.

    August 9, 2010 1 Photo

  • Bondswoman charged with false imprisonment

    A bail bondswoman from Carthage is facing a charge of false imprisonment for allegedly attempting to put a man in jail without a judge’s order, then taking him home and handcuffing him to the banister of a staircase until a friend of the man paid her his bond money.

    January 4, 2012

  • Man’s last statement to be given to defendant

    A judge ruled Monday that the Jasper County prosecutor must provide attorneys for Darren J. Winans with a videotaped statement co-defendant Matthew D. Laurin made about the Sheldon murders shortly before killing himself.

    August 23, 2010

  • Carthage proposes 1.6-cent rise in city property tax

    A drop in the assessed value of Carthage real estate will translate to an increase of about 1.6 cents in the city’s proposed property tax rate.

    August 9, 2010

  • Open house to celebrate projects at courthouse

    Projects completed last year at the Jasper County Courthouse will be celebrated in ceremonies Thursday in the courthouse lobby.
    County officials will join representatives of local chambers of commerce and others for a ribbon-cutting and open house to mark the opening of a Route 66 display in the lobby and a new “peace star” atop the building.

    May 9, 2010

  • Newton County Jail State budget cuts reduce county funds

    County officials are bracing for more state budget cuts to translate into a loss of county revenues.
    In an effort to balance Missouri’s budget, the state earlier this year cut the amount it reimburses county assessors for work to determine property values. The budget approved by lawmakers for fiscal 2011 calls for cutting the amount the state reimburses counties to house prisoners bound for state lockup.

    May 9, 2010 1 Photo

  • Jo Ellis: County home to rare yellowwood tree

    In late spring, drifts as white as snow fill the gutters and curbs on the east side of the Jasper County Courthouse. It isn’t snow, of course; it’s the fallen petals of the yellowwood tree that grows squarely in front of the door to the Jasper County Extension office.

    May 9, 2010

  • Jasper County Commission gets building project update

    Plans to close out one building project and start another were reviewed by the Jasper County Commission last week.
    Darieus Adams, Western District associate commissioner, met Thursday with officials of the firm who designed a $292,400 project to upgrade the lighting and make other changes to make four county-owned buildings more energy efficient.

    May 8, 2010

  • Two men running for associate judge in 39th Circuit take case to court

    Two men running for associate judge in Missouri’s 39th Circuit began battling it out in a Jasper County courtroom this week.
    Jasper County Circuit Judge Gayle Crane heard arguments Wednesday concerning the disclosure of documents sought by Robert “Bobby” George, Aurora, the current Lawrence County prosecutor.

    May 7, 2010

  • Carthage tiger Unveiling ceremony celebrates CHS tiger

    Kandy Frazier, Carthage High School principal, summed it up once the new addition to the CHS campus was unveiled Thursday.
    The bronze tiger sculpture created by Carthage artist and sculptor Bob Tommey, she said, is the kind of work that would be found at a big university.

    May 6, 2010 1 Photo