<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> Suspects in Sheldon murders plead not guilty

July 09, 2009 11:39 am

— Two men accused of murdering an elderly Carthage couple pleaded innocent to charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary in Jasper County Court today.
Darren Winans, 21, of Jasper, and Matthew D. Laurin, 19, of Springfield, were arraigned via video in Judge Richard Copeland’s court in Joplin today. Both men waived formal arraignment and entered pleas of not guilty. Both men are being represented by public defenders.
The pair are charged with the Oct. 11, 2008, slaying of Robert Sheldon, 70, and his wife, Ellen, 71, at their home in rural Carthage, in what Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn has alluded to as a burglary gone wrong.
The next hearing in the case has been set for 9:05 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22.