Thursday, April 06, 2023

Three area residents to plead guilty to kidnapping that led to murder


Notices of change of plea hearings for three more co-defendants in the kidnapping that led to the death of Michael James Hall, Joplin, were filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Hearings for Amy Kay Thomas, 40, Webb City, (pictured) and Lawrence William "Scary Larry" Vaughan, 51, Neosho, are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Thursday, April 27 in Springfield.

The hearing for Carla Jo Ward, 47, Joplin, is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 25.









The hearings for two other co-defendants, Russell Eugene Hurtt, 51, Joplin, and James B. Gibson, 41, Webb City, are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, respectively.

If the change of plea hearings go as anticipated, the only remaining defendant will be Freddie Lewis Tilton, 50, Joplin, who allegedly shot Hall in the head after Thomas cut him repeatedly with a knife and Gibson beat him with a club, according to the indictment.

Hall's decomposing body was found by officers from the Joplin Police Department and Newton County Sheriff's Office while they were executing a search warrant at 3517 Cherry Road in Joplin.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:13 PM

    Hopefully they each will receive 25 years without parole. They actually should get the death sentence. They are guilty of premeditated murder. That is exactly what they did. Picked him up against his will, brutally tortured him for days and then killed him. They knew they were going to kill him in the end.

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  2. Anonymous10:13 PM

    Amy Thomas is evil. Deserves life.

    ReplyDelete