Fairview woman who stalked, harrassed, murdered Granby man dies in prison

Connie Sanders Ford, 74, the former Fairview resident who was serving life in prison for the March 30, 2015 murder of John Jordan, 58, Granby, died of natural causes today, according to officials at the Chillicothe Correctional Center.

A McDonald County jury convicted Connie Sanders-Ford, 70, of first-degree murder after she rejected a plea bargain offer from the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office, which would have sentenced her to 25 years in exchange for a plea to second degree murder, and rolled the dice at trial.

That decision did not work out well for the Fairview woman, who was convicted and then sentenced July 5, 2016 to life without the possibility of parole.

Sanders made two appeals in her efforts to have her conviction tossed out, claiming that her crime was a crime of passion and was not premeditated.

In the first attempt, the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals explained why that was not the case.

Victim’s wife was fixing supper at home when Defendant walked in, introduced herself, said she and Victim had “been having an affair for over a year” and “I’m here to tell you so that he can leave you,” called Victim’s wife “pathetic,” then spent the next month trying to break up the marriage:

• Defendant repeatedly returned to Victim’s home to make trouble. Once the police had to be called to get her to leave.

• Defendant stalked Victim’s wife at her job, her home, and on the streets. Victim’s wife drove to the sheriff’s office on one occasion and Defendant followed her inside.

• Defendant offered Victim’s adult son a financial incentive to convince Victim to abandon the marriage. When the son refused and told Defendant to leave them alone, Defendant threatened to shoot Victim and herself.

• Defendant went to the son’s house, argued with Victim, and pulled a gun, which Victim took away from her.

• Defendant threatened to “destroy” Victim’s family by telling the whole town about the affair, then went to the local newspaper and angrily demanded that a story be written about Victim.

• While Victim’s wife was at the courthouse seeking an order of protection, Defendant approached and handed her a purported “love contract” between Defendant and Victim.

• Defendant called Victim and threatened to shoot herself because he would not leave his wife. Victim then heard a gunshot, hung up, and called 911. Police found Defendant at the cemetery, lying near grave plots owned by Victim and his wife. Meanwhile, Victim sought to sever financial ties with Defendant, then he, his wife, and his son all obtained ex parte orders of protection against her. Later that day, Defendant confronted Victim at his son’s house and threatened to shoot Victim and his son unless the orders of protection were dropped.

Two days before the hearing date on full orders of protection against Defendant, she shot Victim in the chest at the front door to his home. As he succumbed, Defendant fled to a friend’s house, confessed what she had done, and sought to call an attorney.