Update: Double Homicide Suspect James Horn Still at Large - Be On the Lookout.

SEDALIA, Mo. – Police in multiple states will continue searching for double homicide suspect James Horn on Friday.

Horn is the suspect in a double homicide that happened Thursday morning. Sandra Kay Sutton, 46, along with her 17-year-old sun Zachary Wade Sutton, who were found dead in Clinton on Thursday. Sandra Sutton was the woman Horn is accused of locking up in a wooden box for four months.

Sedalia Police Chief John DeGonia said Friday morning that extra patrol cars are still on the scene at E. 15th Street in the city and would remain there until Horn is caught.

Preliminary autopsy results are expected Friday for the two victims. The autopsies are being conducted by the Jackson County Medical Examiner.

Sedalia, Mo., police searched multiple homes in Horn’s neighborhood, but were unable to track him down. The victims were found just before 4:30 a.m. Thursday at 7176 E. Franklin Street in Clinton, Mo.

Horn, the man accused of kidnapping and locking Sutton up in the box, is the suspect in the case, according to the Clinton Police Department. He is a white male, roughly 6/0” tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has brown hair, brown eyes and an average build. Horn is considered armed and dangerous.

NEW | James B. Horn, Jr.’s lengthy history of sexual violence and prison time

Sonny Lynch, assistant chief of police for the Clinton Police Department, said the son was found on the stairs and Sandra Sutton was discovered in a bedroom. “They were discovered by family members who were working on the overnight shift,” Lynch said. “They had been away working when this happened.”

Lynch said he doesn’t know of any signs of forced entry at the home where Sutton and her son were found shot dead. Police believe Horn killed them and then fled to the home in Sedalia where Sutton told police Horn held her captive. Authorities surrounded three homes, including Horn’s home, in Sedalia Thursday in their search. At 4 p.m. on Thursday, SWAT teams had searched the homes and found no sign of him. He is still at large.

In the immediate aftermath of the homicides, some wondered why the family was not under some type of protection. On the issue of police protection for Sutton following her escape, Lynch said the police department was unaware she lived in Clinton after Sutton and her son moved in with her brother. “We did not know she was living in our community,” Lynch said. “We’re still investigating those details. We were not notified that she was in our community.”

According to Lynch, victim advocacy groups in both Sedalia and Clinton recommended to Sutton that she should get protection from police.

However, she said no, Lynch said. “She was advised by victim advocates to get a protection order,” he said. “She felt she was safe. She did not want to take that advice.”

Lynch added that he’s unsure if the protection order would have made a difference in this case. Horn was aware of the home’s location because they all worked together. Horn knew which family members worked which shift, Lynch said. After the murders, police believe Horn stole the car located at the home in Clinton.

Autopsies will be done by the Jackson County medical examiner. Preliminary results are expected Friday, and toxicology reports are expected in six to eight weeks, authorities said during an afternoon news conference in Clinton. More than 30 investigators were on the scene in Clinton.

Sedalia police surround homes

Sedalia police blocked off a home on the 800 block of E. 15th Street, the location of Horn’s home where he kept Sandra Sutton locked up in the box. Police arrived at Horn’s home around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Several times, police requested Horn to come out with his hands up. They never received a response.

Other nearby homes were also searched. A robot and a SWAT team took down the front door of another home where Horn was thought to be at about 2:30 p.m. and went inside. The home turned out to be vacant. As of 4pm Thursday, SWAT teams cleared the three homes, including Horn’s, and didn’t find him. No other suspects have been indicated at this time, police said during an afternoon news conference.

The original case

Police in Sedalia have been looking for Horn since May 1, a day after Sandra Sutton escaped the box and contacted police with the help of a neighbor. The initial call from her came at around 6 p.m. on April 30.

Police described the call as “hysterical,” but said Sutton had calmed down by the time they arrived at the home. She told police Horn locked her in a wooden box for the past four months. When investigating Horn’s home, police discovered a box similarly to one described by the victim.

Horn had a criminal past

This was not Horn’s first run-in with the law. He spent over a decade in prison for kidnapping and raping his wife. He had also spent three more years in a prison for raping and kidnapping a second woman he had previously dated for five months. Horn was released from prison in December 2011.

Due to the nature of his crimes, he was supposed to be supervised release by law enforcement and he was required to register as a sex offender.

Previously in this case, prosecutors charged Horn with kidnapping, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Courtesy KSHB TV

Update: Double Homicide Suspect James Horn Still at Large - Be On the Lookout.