Missouri Death Row

887 S.W.2d 369 (Mo.banc 1994)

Supreme Court Case Number: 74064 (May 25, 1997)

Timothy L. Johnston was executed at 12:07 a.m., August 31, 2005

Case Facts: At 2:28 a.m. on June 30, 1989, paramedics arrived at the home of Timothy and Nancy Johnston  in response to a 911 call, seeking assistance for a “severe sick case.” The 911 operator also dispatched  a police officer with the St. Louis Police Department to the residence. The ambulance carrying the  paramedics and the police arrived at the Johnston residence at the same time. A male voice from  inside the house directed these emergency personnel to “hurry up, inside. She is in here. She needs  help.” The officer and paramedics stepped over bloodstains on both the sidewalks and front porch.

Just inside the doorway, they found Timothy Johnston bent over a woman lying on the floor,  her otherwise nude upper body draped with a shirt, her face and torso horribly injured, swollen and  bloody. A six-inch gash ran across her forehead to the socket of her right eye. Someone had yanked  Large patches of hair from her head. She was not breathing. The police had to remove a very  agitated Timothy Johnston before paramedics could assess the woman’s condition.

Paramedics declared Ms. Johnston dead at the scene. An autopsy performed later that morning  revealed extensive, blunt-trauma injuries over much of her upper body; a broken nose; bruised and  torn lips; scrapes to the back of her head and face; separation of a portion of her scalp from the skull; a broken right collarbone; a four-inch tear in her liver; bruising and tearing in the heart and  spleen; fractures in nearly all of her ribs and a variety a relatively “minor”scrapes and bruises over  much of her body. The medical examiner determined the cause of death as the collapse of the
support structure around her heart and lungs, rendering those organs unable to function because  they could not bear the weight of the muscle, tissue and bone pressing on them. Bleeding under the  skin confirmed that the victim had remained alive through most of the beating.

When questioned, Johnston claimed a motorcycle gang that wanted “to get back at him”  had killed his wife, leaving her body for him to discover at their home. Further investigation revealed  three witnesses who identified Johnston as the individual they observed severely beating, kicking, stomping and dragging a woman on the sidewalk and porch earlier in the evening. Johnston eventually  confessed to the murder, saying he and his wife had been at a Local bar when they got into an  argument that continued to when they went home.

Missouri Supreme Court opinion.

1989
06/30 – Timothy Johnston murders Nancy Johnston in St.Louis, Missouri.
07/24 – Johnston is charged by indictment with First Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action.

1991
05/16 – The jury returns a verdict of guilty of Murder 1st Degree and Armed Criminal Action.
05/18 – The jury returns a death sentence as punishment for First Degree Murder and life imprisonment for Armed Criminal Action.
07/26 – The St.Louis City Circuit Court sentences Johnston to death for the First Degree Murder conviction and Life imprisonment for the Armed Criminal Action conviction.

1992
01/02 – Johnston files a motion for post-conviction relief in the Circuit Court of St.Louis City.

1996
09/30 – The Circuit Court denies post-conviction relief.

1997
11/25 – The Missouri Supreme Court affirms Johnston’s conviction and sentence and the denial of post-conviction relief. State v. Johnston, 957 S.W.2d 734 (Mo.banc 1997)

1998
03/02 – The United States Supreme Court denies certiorari review. Johnston v. Missouri, 522 U.S.5O(1998).
08/14 – Johnston files a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

2000
11/02 – The District Court denies the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Johnston v. Bowersox, 119 F.Supp. 2d 971 (E.D.Mo.2000).

2002
05/01 – The Court of Appeals affirms the deniaL of habeas relief. Johnston v.Luebbers, 288 F.3d 1048 (8th Cir. 2002).

2003
01/21 – The Supreme Court declines certiorari review. Johnston v. Roper, 537 U.S. 1166 (2003).
05/12 – The State requests the Missouri Supreme Court to set an execution date.

2005
08/01 – The Missouri Supreme Court sets Johnston’s execution date of August 31, 2005.

902 S.W. 2d 278 (Mo.banc 1995)

Vernon Brown was executed at 2:35 a.m., May 18, 2005.

Case Facts: On October 24, 1986, nine-year old Janet Perkins left the Cole Schoot in north St. Louis around 3:00 p.m. and walked toward her home three and a half blocks away. She generally took the same route each day, west on Enright Avenue. Under normal circumstances, the trip took Less than 15 minutes.
        
Vernon Brown, who was then using the name Thomas Tur rier, had picked up his stepsons from Cole School and returned to their home on Enright Avenue in time to see Janet walking past. Brown called to her and ultimately enticed her to enter the house.
        
Browns stepsons saw Janet enter the house. A neighbor’s relative saw Brown on the front porch and Janet walking up the steps to the house, Brown ordered the stepsons to their bedroom and locked the door from the outside. Despite Browns claims that at this point he began suffering PCP-induced blackouts, Brown’s own statements, the testimony of his stepsons, and the physical evidence show that he took Janet to the basement of the house and bound her feet and one hand with a wire coat hanger, forcing her into a crouched position that permitted her head to reach the height of Brown’s genitalia. Brown then strangled Janet to death with a rope.
        
The next day, law enforcement authorities found Janet’a body in two trash bags near a dumpster in an alley behind Brown’s house. Further investigation raised suspicion about Brown. When suspicion turned to probable cause, St. Louis police arrested Brown on October 27, 1986, confronted him with their evidence, including testimony of a neighbor who had seen Janet enter Brown’s house, and asked Brown to tell them where to find Janet’s missing shoe, raincoat and school papers. Brown led police to a different dumpster in which they found a bag containing Janet’s missing property.
        
Brown made a videotaped statement implicating himself as Janet’s killer. In a subsequent statement, Brown also admitted killing Synetta Ford, a woman who had been murdered on March 7, 1985.

Updated from Missouri Department of Corrections documents on May 18, 2005.

Legal Chronology

1986
10/24 – Vernon Brown murders Janet Perkins in St. Louis, Missouri.
11/18 – Brown is charged by indictment with two counts of First Degree Murder, including kthe 1985 murder of Synetta Ford.

1988
10/27 – The jury returns a verdict of guilty of Murder 1st Degree.
10/31 – The jury returns a death sentence.
12/13 – The Circuit Court of St. Louis City sentences Brown to death for the Janet Perkins murder conviction.            

1989
07/06 – Brown files a post-conviction relief motion in the circuit court of St. Louis City.

1994
03/08 – Circuit court denies post-conviction relief motion.

1995
07/20 – The Missouri Supreme Court affirms Brown’s conviction and sentence and the denial of post-conviction relief. State v. Brown, 902 S.W. 2d 278 (Mo.banc 1995).
12/11 – The United State Supreme Court denies certiorari review. Brown v. Missouri, 516 U. S. 1031 (1995).
12/11 – Brown files a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United State District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

2000     
07/05 – The District Court denies the petition for writ of habeas corpus.

2001
02/23 – The Court of Appeals affirms the denial of habeas relief.

2002
02/19 – The U.S. Supreme Court denies discretionary review. Brown v. Luebbers, 5340 U. s. 1135 (2002).
02/25 – The State requests the Missouri Supreme Court to set an execution date.

2005
04/15 – Missouri Supreme Court sets Brown’s execution date of May 18, 2005.

955 S.W. 2d 198 (Mo.banc 1997) 

Stanley Hall was executed at 12:06 a.m., March 16, 2005.

Case Facts: On the evening of January 15, 1994, Stanley Hall and Rance Burton borrowed a car and drove to the South County Shopping Center in St. Louis, Missouri. They were searching for a vehicle to steal. Hall and Burton got out of their car and approached Barbara Jo Wood’s car as she pulled into the parking lot. They forced her at gunpoint to the passenger side and then drove her in her car to the McKinley Bridge.

Wood was forced out of the car, and there was a struggle on the bridge. At some point she was wounded. Witnesses in a passing car saw her bleeding. Burton got back in Wood’s car and drove away. Wood, pleading for her life was still holding on to Hall as he tried to lift her over the bridge railing. He eventually succeeded, and Wood fell ninety feet to the river.

Meanwhile, the two witnesses in the car had notified the Venice, Illinois police department. The police arrived and captured Hall moments after he pushed Wood off the bridge. The icy condition of the river impeded search and rescue attempts.

Both witnesses identified Hall as the man they has seen struggling with Wood. After waiving his Miranda rights, Hall identified Barbara Jo Wood from a picture as the woman he had forced over the guardrail. Seven-and-a-half months later, the lower portion of a torso matching Wood’s physical condition was found in the Mississippi River.

693 S.W.2d 79(Mo.banc 1985)

749 S.W.2d 356 (Mo.banc 1988)

Case Facts: William Jones met Stanley Albert in late 1985. In November of 1985 Mr. Albert purchased a white 1985 Camaro Z28 automobile. After Mr. Albert’s purchase, Jones told a few of his friends that his father was going to help him purchase a new white Camaro. 

On January 16, 1986 at 4:30 p.m. Mr. Albert pulled up in front of Jones’ apartment in the Camaro. Before joining Mr. Albert, Jones borrowed a blanket from his roommate stating that his new car had arrived and he didn’t want to get it dirty when he went to pick up some tires. 

Later that same evening Jones offered his roommate a ride in the Camaro. White riding around Jones crushed a pair of sunglasses remarking that the owner would no longer need them.

The next day Jones purchased a shovel with his roommate’s credit card and returned later in the afternoon. He told his roommate that he was going to take a nap because, “it gets pretty tiring when you drag a dead man through the woods.”

On Sunday, January 19, 1986 Jones picked up a female friend in Topeka, Kansas to drive her to Indianapolis, Indiana in the Camaro. East of Kansas City, the Missouri State Highway Patrol attempted to stop Jones for speeding. Jones outran the police and abandoned the car in Malta Bend, Missouri. The police Located the car with stolen Kansas license plates. Jones was arrested later that day.

Mr. Albert did not report to work on January 17, 1986 and was not seen again. On March 2, 1986 his body was found wrapped in a blanket in a wooded area outside Independence, Missouri. The blanket was identical to the one that Jones had borrowed from his roommate in January. Mr. Albert had been shot five times in the neck and the chest. The Medical Examiner estimated that Mr. Albert had been dead between two weeks and several months. Three of the bullets were determined to have been fired from the same weapon and the other two might have been.

When police searched the home of William Jones they found shells of the same type that had been found at the scene of the crime. Police also found a watch that had belonged to Mr. Albert and his license plates which had been on the Camaro.

Last Statement of William Jones: “I regret what has happened, I do not deserve death for it. God forgive those for what they do not understand what they do. To the family of the victim Stanley Albert, I am sorry for what has happened and that you suffered this great loss, but after 17 years of my incarceration, does this really give you a sense of closure-or simply a sense of vengeance? I pray for you all. To my wife, fathers, mother and nephew Zakary, I will see you soon in the heavens above. My darling Gerti my wife, I love you endlessly my honeybird. Till we meet again, stay strong. Love Billy”

The Missourinet’s Steve Walsh reports following execution of William R. Jones  [:55 mp3] [:60 mp3] [:46 mp3]

942 S.W.2d 342 (Mo.banc 1997)

Missouri Corrections Director Gary Kempker briefing reporters following the execution of Daniel Basile. Audio 1:40

Jim Vaniseghem of St. Louis, brother of murder victim Elizabeth DeCaro, reading a statement from the family. Audio 1 min

Friends and family of Daniel Basile speaking to reporters from the
Missourinet and the Associated Press following the execution.
Participants included:

Dennis Watson, the grandfather of Basile’s
nine-year old daughter; Lisa Owsley, Wentzville, longtime friend of
Daniel Basile; Julie Ferranto, St.Louis, niece of Basile; Terra Murray,
St. Charles, sister of Daniel Basile; Desiree Trousdale, Jackson,
sister of Daniel Basile; Captain Jeff Militti, army chaplain who was
Basile’s spiritual advisor, whose mother often took care of Basile when
he was a child. Militti is at home on emergency leave from South Korea.
Also heard briefly is Tina Addison, mother of Basile’s daughter. Audio 15:00

Case Facts: On January 10, 1992 Richard DeCaro had a conversation with James Torregrossa in which he asked if he knew of anyone who could “put a hit on somebody.” DeCaro told Torregrossa that he was not happy in his marriage.

On January 20, 1992 DeCaro purchased a $100,000 insurance policy on his wife, Elizabeth, listing himself as the primary beneficiary. On January 26, 1992 DeCaro struck his wife with their van knocking her through the garage wall into the kitchen. DeCaro received over $30,000 from the insurance company as a result of the incident.

In January 1992 DeCaro asked Craig Wells, manager of a gas station, if he knew anyone who could steal his van. Wells introduced DeCaro to Daniel Basile. When the two met DeCaro offered Basile $15,000 to steal his van and kill Elizabeth. On February 8, 1992 Basile stole the van, drove it to Jackson, Missouri and burned it. He received $200 for the job.

On February 28, 1992 Basile asked his friend, Jeffrey Niehaus for a stolen gun that was not traceable. On March 4, Basile showed his half-brother, Doug Meyer, a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with pearl-like grips.

On March 6, 1992 Richard DeCaro took his four children to the Lake of the Ozarks and checked into the Holiday Inn at 2:59 p.m. Between 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. a witness noticed the DeCaro garage door was closed. Elizabeth DeCaro left work at 2:20 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. a neighbor noticed the garage door was open and the DeCaros’ Chevy Blazer with license plates “RIK-LIZ” was in the garage. The neighbor stopped by and rang the doorbell, but no one answered.

At 4:15 p.m. Basile was seen driving the DeCaros’ Blazer in St. Charles. That evening around 6:30 p.m. Basile called an ex-roomate for a ride stating that “things went down… I did what I had to do.” Basile then called Doug Meyer to see if he had garage space where Basile could work on his car. Basile drove the Blazer to a friend’s house and gave him a “boom box” stereo taken from the DeCaro home. Basile told the friend that he “did this lady.” At 10:30 p.m. Basile drove the Blazer to Meyer’s house.

When Elizabeth DeCaro failed to show up at her sister’s home for dinner and did not answer her telephone, her sister and a mutual friend went to the DeCaro residence. They went through a side door in the garage and found Elizabeth DeCaro lying face down on the kitchen floor.

Police found Mrs. DeCaro with two gunshot wounds in the back of her neck and bruises on her body. When she was shot the gun was in contact with her body and she was either kneeling or lying down. The bullets recovered from her body were .22 caliber. Police found no signs of a forced entry and observed that audio-visual equipment was missing from the home.

On March 7, 1992 Basile called Craig Wells and stated, “It looks like I got set up.” On March 9, Meyer found the DeCaros’ dismantled Blazer in the garage he provided for Basile. Meyer confronted Basile and Basile told him it was “either him or her,” and that he wasn’t going back to prison. On March 11, Meyer contacted the police. Basile was arrested on March 12, 1992 and charged with Murder First Degree.

928 S.W. 2d 584 (Mo.banc 1996)

Case Facts: On September 2, 1992 Paul Kreutzer was observed in the vicinity of the home of Louise Hemphill near Louisiana, Missouri in Pike County. Mrs. Hemphill had returned home after taking one of her three children to school. Her brother had also visited her in the morning and then left the house.

Kreutzer had visited schools in the local area offering to speak to children about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. One of the schools was the one where Mrs. Hemphill had dropped off her daughter. At around 9:41 a.m. Kreutzer purchased a BB gun in Louisiana, Missouri.

At around 4:00 p.m. that day the Hemphill children found their mother upon their return from school. Mrs. Hemphill’s nude body was found laying on the floor of her son’s bedroom. Duct tape was wrapped around the head and foot of one of the beds and pieces of duct tape remained around Mrs. Hemphill’s ankles. Mr. Hemphill was contacted by his children. He returned home and called the police.

Mrs. Hemphill suffered multiple injuries. She had been stabbed in the neck. Bloodstains and duct tape were discovered in the bathroom and the master bedroom. Mrs. Hemphill had been struck at least three times with a baseball bat from her son’s room. The blows from the bat dislocated a vertebra in her neck and brain matter was leaking from the wound. Police found that strangulation was the immediate cause of death. A belt had been Looped around Mrs. Hemphill’s neck and used to strangle her. A hunting knife kept in the Hemphill’s kitchen was found laying on her body. Mrs. Hemphill’s purse was missing. Bloodstains on the bed cover and Mrs. Hemphill’s sweat pants matched hers and Kreutzer. A DNA sample of blood and semen found on the bedcover and Mrs. Hemphill’s person matched that of Kreutzer.

During their investigation police found that Kreutzer, on parole from Illinois, lived less than a mile from the Hemphill’s. Police arrested Kreutzer on the evening of September 2, 1992 at a nearby motel. Officers searched his car and recovered Mrs. Hemphill’s billfold, a pair of gloves with human bloodstains, a roll of duct tape and the BB gun Kreutzer had purchased that morning. Police searched the motel room where Kreutzer was staying and found a pair of jeans with human bloodstains and a receipt for the purchase of the BB gun. Kreutzer was then placed in custody and charged with Mrs. Hemphill’s murder.

918 S.W. 2d 753 (Mo.banc 1996)

959 S.W.2d 789 (Mo.banc 1997)

Michael Owsley was executed at 12:07 a.m., February 6, 2002.

Case Facts: On April 18, 1993 Elvin Iverson drove from Kansas City, Missouri to Junction City, Kansas to sell drugs. Iverson was accompanied by Ellen Cole. When Iverson and Cole returned to Iverson’s residence in Kansas City they were confronted by Michael Owsley and another individual named Hamilton. Owsley and Hamilton ordered Iverson and Cole to lie on the floor. Hamilton had a semiautomatic weapon with a silencer and Owsley had a 12 gauge shotgun.

Hamilton demanded the money from the drug sale. Iverson told him that he gave the money to another individual that was with him in Junction City. Owsley then threatened Iverson and began punching, kicking and striking Iverson with the shotgun to persuade him to tell where the money was.

When Iverson continued to deny that he had the money, Owsley took a bag from Hamilton and put it on Iverson’s head and began to smother him. At that point Hamilton asked Cole about the money and she lied by offering to take them to a key. Hamilton then tied Cole and Iverson together by their feet with an electrical extension cord and the two where then covered with a blanket.

Owsley stood over them, hitting them with the barrel of the shotgun and said, “One of you will live: one of you will die.” He put the gun to Iverson’s head. Before he fired the weapon Hamilton told Owsley to put a pillow over Iverson’s head which Owsley did. He then fired the shotgun into Iverson’s head killing him instantly.

Hamilton untied Cole and took her to his car while Owsley followed in a second car. A short time later Cole managed to escape from Hamilton’s car and notify the police of the incident. Owsley was arrested on 4-19-93.