Judge orders Webb City woman accused of assaulting, torturing murder victim held without bond

 A Webb City woman accused of using a knife to cut and torture a man she believed to be an informant will be held without bond in the Greene County Jail while awaiting trial.

U. S. District Court Judge David P. Rush issued the detention order for Amy Kay Thomas, 38, during a hearing this morning in Springfield.

Regarding the potential danger to the community, the Court notes the nature of the instant offense and defendant’s criminal history which includes, but is not limited to, the following: prior felony and misdemeanor arrests and convictions; charge involving domestic violence; probation and parole non-compliance; and criminal activity while under supervision. 

In addition, the Court notes defendant’s historical and current substance abuse issues, historical and current mental health issues, and gang association.

According to federal prosecutors, it is that gang association that led to Thomas' involvement in the torture and murder of Michael James Hall, Joplin, whose decomposing body was discovered July 28, 2020, by officers from the Joplin Police Department and Newton County Sheriff's Office while they were executing a search warrant at 3517 Cherry Road, Joplin.

According to the grand jury indictment, which was unsealed July 29, Freddie Lewis Tilton, 48, Joplin, shot Hall in the head after Thomas cut him repeatedly with a knife and James B. Gibson, 39, Webb City, beat him with a club.

Others indicted in connection with the death of Hall were Lawrence William Vaughan, aka "Scary Larry," 49, Neosho, Russell Eugene Hurtt, 49, Joplin, and Carla Jo Ward, 47, Joplin.

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