By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
Arguments that two men should stand trial in the murders of Robert and Ellen Sheldon last October near Carthage are scheduled today in the Associate Division of Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin.
Preliminary hearings for Darren J. Winans, 21 of rural Jasper, and Matthew D. Laurin, 19, of Springfield, are set for 9 a.m. today.
Robert Sheldon was a longtime reserve deputy for the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, and the court may also hear arguments claiming that that association led to the alleged abuse of Winans in the county jail.
Charges
Winans and Laurin are charged with crimes including two counts of first-degree murder. But affidavits filed in the case state that while Laurin has confessed to going to the Sheldon home for a planned robbery, he contends that Winans was the one who stabbed the couple to death.
A state public defender in late July wrote a letter asking that Winans be transferred to a jail outside the county. The letter said Winans twice had been abused by jailers, and that the treatment was because of his alleged involvement in the slayings of the former reserve deputy and his wife.
A motion filed about the same time asked the court to order the preservation of videotapes from the jail that the defense contends will show Winans was subjected to abuse and excessive force at the hands of jailers on or about July 13 and July 17. Court records show no similar filings on Laurin’s behalf.
Responses
Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn in a telephone interview Thursday dismissed the allegations.
“It didn’t happen,” he said. “Anything like that would taint our case, and we’re not going to do that.”
Dean Dankelson, Jasper County prosecutor, also countered the claim, and he said he is uncertain whether abuse allegations will be raised by the defense during today’s proceedings.
“I don’t think there was anything to it, and I don’t think there has been any abuse of the prisoner,” he said.
The letter was written and the motion filed by Frank Yankoviz, a local public defender, who has withdrawn from the case. He deferred questions to Joseph Zuzul, now the attorney of record. The Globe’s attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
Local public defenders have been replaced because of the first-degree murder charges in the case. Christopher Hatley, who is representing Laurin, filed a motion Monday asking that the case against his client be continued.
The bodies of the Carthage couple were found Oct. 12 by a son, Daniel Sheldon, after they did not show up for church services.
Investigators say Winans and Laurin went to the Sheldon home Oct. 11. Authorities say Winans and Zachary Townsend on Sept. 23 allegedly stole a rifle from the Sheldons’ business, the Old Cabin Shop, which is next door.
Authorities contend that the Sheldons walked in on the two when they returned home from a Sunday school party, and they were stabbed to death along with their dog.
Townsend has since pleaded guilty to stealing a firearm and is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 19. Authorities say he is not suspected of any involvement in the murders.
Robert Sheldon Jr., the couple’s eldest son, said family members intend to be at all the hearings of those charged in his parents’ deaths, and that a number of them will be in the courtroom today.
“That’s the plan,” he said.
Other charges
In addition to first-degree murder, Darren Winans and Matthew Laurin are charged with two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree burglary. Both have waived formal arraignment and entered pleas of innocent.
Timeline
Robert and Ellen Sheldon were found Oct. 12, 2008, stabbed to death at their rural Carthage home. The following events, provided by authorities in probable-cause affidavits, other court documents and interviews, provide a chronology before and after the murders.
Sept. 23, 2008: Darren Winans, 21, and Zachary Townsend, 24, both of Jasper, go to the Sheldons’ Old Cabin Shop and allegedly steal a rifle. Authorities later said the ease of the alleged theft might have made Winans consider the Sheldons “an easy target.”
Oct. 11, 2008: The Sheldons attend a Sunday school party at Fairview Christian Church in Carthage. Winans allegedly returns to the Old Cabin Shop with Matthew Laurin, 19, of Springfield. A motive of burglary is cited. The Sheldons return home sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., walking in on the burglary. The young men allegedly stab the couple to death.
Oct. 12, 2008: Daniel Sheldon goes to the home of his parents after the couple do not show up for church services. He discovers the bodies of his parents.
Oct. 17, 2008: Townsend is interviewed by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department. He reportedly tells a detective that he and Winans stole a rifle from the Sheldons several weeks earlier.
Oct. 22, 2008: Townsend is charged with Class C felony theft of a firearm.
Nov. 24, 2008: Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn tells reporters that leads in the murders have dried up, and that authorities are considering creating a reward fund to revive the investigation.
Dec. 12, 2008: Dunn announces that a reward fund has been started.
Feb. 11, 2009: The Sheldon family announces that the reward fund is up to $20,000.
May 2009: An anonymous tip first submitted in December resurfaces.
July 1, 2009: Winans is arrested and charged with Class C felony theft of a firearm in connection with the Sept. 23 theft of the rifle from the Sheldons.
July 6, 2009: The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department announces that it is pursuing leads that someone in Springfield might have important information about the unsolved case.
July 7, 2009: Laurin is arrested in Springfield.
July 8, 2009: Authorities announce that Laurin and Winans are in custody in connection with the Sheldon murders. Each is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree burglary.
July 9, 2009: Winans and Laurin are arraigned via video in the Associate Division of Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin before Judge Richard Copeland. Both men waive formal arraignment and enter pleas of innocent.
July 29, 2009: The Globe learns that Laurin reportedly confessed to accompanying Winans to the Sheldon home the night of Oct. 11 for a planned robbery, but he claimed 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.
