By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Jasper County deputies continued Friday to maintain a strong presence in a rural area west of Carthage where an elderly couple were discovered brutally slain six days ago inside their home.

Detectives with the Tri-State Major Case Squad have yet to make an arrest in the slayings of Robert and Ellen Sheldon at 160 N. Black Powder Lane about a half-mile west of Carthage.

The Jasper County sheriff has declined to say how the couple in their 70s were killed except to describe their deaths as “horrible” and to suggest that the murder scene reflected strong animosity toward the victims on the part of their slayer.

But Sheriff Archie Dunn said Friday that because of the unsolved status of the murders at this time, residents in the Carthage area should remain wary of suspicious activities near their homes and take proper precautions against any intruders.

“I don’t want to start a panic or anything,” Dunn said. “But, if we haven’t caught the killer, or killers, obviously people should be concerned.”

Investigators are still preserving the crime scene on the couple’s property for any further study that may be needed. Robert Sheldon, a reserve officer with the Sheriff’s Department for the past 25 years, ran a gun and archery business on the property known as the Old Cabin Shop.

The sheriff said that to date the major case squad has not found it necessary to seek the assistance of any other agencies’ expertise in crime-scene analysis.

Dunn said he still could not discuss preliminary findings of autopsies conducted on the couple. He said investigators are focused on leads that continue to crop up in the form of tips received from the public and information culled by detectives.

“We’re way over 200 leads,” Dunn said. “Of course, we’ll follow up on every one of them.”

Services conducted

Services and burial for the couple were conducted Friday in Carthage.