2013 in Review: 2012 probable cause affidavit says accused killer Bobby Bourne assaulted child

(From August 2013) "Stop and get off me," the girl shouted, as Bobby Don Bourne had followed her into the bedroom to continue an argument.

The girl's mother rushed to the room and was frightened by what she saw. Bourne, a man in his 30s, was hitting her daughter, who was lying on her back on the bed.

Shawnee Bench yelled at Bourne, her brother-in-law to get off the girl. When he did not, she tried to grab his arm and pull him off, but he was too strong. Bourne grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a violent shove.

"Get out of my "f------g house," Bourne shouted.

In her probable cause statement filed that day in October 2012, there was no doubt in Officer Ruth Cottingham's mind what should happen to Bobby Dale Bourne. She wrote, "I believe the defendant poses a danger to the community or to any other person."




It was Bourne's lengthy past record, including arrests for domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon, tampering, and driving while intoxicated.

But it was also the savage nature of the incidents involved in that October arrest that caused Officer Cottingham's certainty. Bobby Dale Bourne posed a threat to the community.

Yet less than a year later, Bourne sits in the Barton County Jail with a bond of $1 million, charged with kidnapping 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton of Golden City, charges which will likely be upgraded following the discovery of the child's body Wednesday.

The assault on the Lockwood child occurred only a month after Bourne had admitted in Polk County Circuit Court that he had violated his probation on a 2006 felony tampering charge by assaulting a law enforcement officer and being intoxicated.

Though a motion to revoke Bourne's probation and send him to prison for five years was filed, no hearing was ever held. Polk County records show that during an October 1 hearing, Judge John Sims ruled that Bourne's probation would be continued with the same conditions.

Before the month was out, court records indicate, Bourne had violated his probation two more times. Though there is no mention in the Polk County online records of what the violations were, but it would appear that at least one of the violations occurred just one week after Judge Sims' decision when Bourne was charged with two counts of domestic assault.

The charges that Officer Cottingham filed against Bourne in Lockwood included one felony assault, one misdemeanor assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.

On Nov. 5, a warrant was issued for Bourne's arrest and his bond was set at $60,000. Three times revocation hearings were scheduled and three times they were postponed. In the middle of that time, Judge Sims retired, throwing another monkey wrench into the works.

The motion to revoke Bourne's probation was withdrawn and on Feb. 8, the $60,000 bond was posted. His probation ended March 4.

Shortly after that, the assault charges against Bourne were reduced from felony to misdemeanor; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in jail on each count with the sentences to run concurrently.

Missouri Department of Corrections records show Bourne is on probation for the domestic assault charges, as well as assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Despite the history of violence, including violence against children, the judicial system appears to have continued letting Bourne slip through the cracks time after time.

If law enforcement officers investigating the kidnapping and death of Adriaunna Horton are correct, that judicial malpractice cost the 12-year-old her life.