By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Matthew Laurin has confessed to accompanying Darren Winans to the home of Robert and Ellen Sheldon the night of Oct. 11 for a planned robbery, but he claims that Winans was the one who stabbed the couple to death, according to a search-warrant document.
An affidavit filed by a Missouri State Highway Patrol investigator to obtain a warrant to search Laurin’s home in Springfield states that Laurin told detectives in an interview July 7 that he and Winans drove to the couple’s home west of Carthage.
Once inside the residence on Black Powder Lane, Winans killed the Sheldons, Laurin reportedly told the detectives. Laurin reportedly admitted that he got blood on his shoes and some gloves that he was wearing, but he claimed that Winans was the one who wielded the knife.
Laurin reportedly told investigators he drove his black Honda Prelude to the couple’s home, and that after the murders, the men went back to his home in Springfield. He told detectives that the jeans he was wearing that night were still at his home.
Search-warrant documents obtained from Greene County Circuit Court show that investigators seized 13 pairs of jeans, two guns, a bundle of knives, and some marijuana plants and drug paraphernalia in a search of Laurin’s residence on July 8.
Both Laurin, 19, and Winans, 21, of rural Jasper, are charged with the slayings. Each faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and a single count of first-degree burglary.
Grisly scene
Other search-warrant documents related to the Sheldon case that were returned recently in Jasper County Circuit Court reveal details of a grisly scene that investigators encountered inside the Sheldons’ home. The documents suggest that the murder scene was rife with blood and trace evidence, which may still be getting processed at local or state crime labs.
The affidavit filed to obtain an initial search warrant for the home states that deputies were called to the residence late on the morning of Oct. 12 after the couple’s son Danny Sheldon discovered their bodies.
Deputies found Ellen Sheldon lying on her back on the floor just inside a hallway door at the west entrance of the house. She had a stab wound to her chest, the affidavit states. Robert Sheldon was found seated in a chair in the living room. He had multiple stab wounds, the affidavit states.
Deputies noted a blood trail leading to the couple’s dog, which also had been stabbed to death. The document designates the location of the dog’s body in a small room between outer and inner west-entry doors.
The search warrant’s inventory indicates considerable blood spatter near Ellen Sheldon’s body, blood on the bolt lock of the interior door of the west entranceway, and blood on light switches in the living room and a stairwell off the living room.
Bloodstains also were found on the carpet of a family room, and on paperwork, a pocketbook, a box and a pill bottle in the family room. Blood also was found on the door and light switch of a bathroom, and on a note, “a rolo-calendar” and an appointment card found on a counter of the bathroom.
More blood was noted on the floor and a rug near the back door, along with a bloody boot print, and on the screen door of the Old Cabin Shop, the couple’s business next door to their home.
The inventory does not indicate which bloodstains and smears are believed to be pertinent to the murders or which, if any, may constitute significant evidence.
Search-warrant documents also confirm that Winans’ name came up early in the murder probe. On Oct. 24, sheriff’s deputies searched a Jasper man’s pickup truck that was in storage at a wrecker service in Carthage. The truck had been seized Oct. 12 as part of an ongoing burglary investigation, according to a probable-cause affidavit for the search warrant.
The affidavit states that investigators received information that the truck’s owner broke down emotionally the day after the Sheldon murders, and confessed to an acquaintance that he and Winans committed the murders.
Detectives found a bloodstain on the inside of the driver’s side door of the truck. A return on the warrant also notes possible bloodstains or smears on the bottom of the passenger seat and glove box, and says that two pairs of jeans and two shirts with stains were found in the truck.
The owner of the truck has not been charged in the Sheldon case and may have been eliminated as a suspect early in the investigation.
The Globe learned of the search-warrant information late Wednesday afternoon and was unable to reach detectives about the matter.
Court date
Matthew Laurin did not appear at a scheduled hearing Wednesday morning in Jasper County Circuit Court. The next hearing date for both defendants is Aug. 5.
Court records show that two local public defenders who have been representing the defendants have been replaced by attorneys from the state public defender’s office. Joseph Zuzul, of Nevada, has filed an entry of appearance on behalf of Darren Winans. Chris Hatley, of Monett, has entered the case for Laurin.
Carthage, Jasper County
Defendant claims accomplice wielded knife in Sheldon murders
- Carthage, Jasper County
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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. -
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. -
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.
-
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. -
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. -
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. - More Carthage, Jasper County Headlines
-
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
White House Attacks Romney on Birth Control
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
