Nine Suspects Arrested, Charged in Pasco Murder

By James McNary

Articles Editor

There have been nine arrests made in the past week relating to the Aug. 16 murder of Sarah C. Pasco, 27, which took place in rural Lawrence County north of Phelps. Another female individual was severely injured by gunshots, but she was able to pull herself to safety and walk to a nearby residence to seek help. At last report, she remained hospitalized.

The office of Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Don Trotter has charges including murder in the first degree, kidnapping and assault filed or pending against Gary W. Hunter, Jr., 24, of Mt. Vernon; Andrew J. Cypret, 27, of rural Billings; Christina N. Knapp, 36, of Stotts City; Diona L. Parks, 26, of Mt. Vernon; Siera L. Dunham, 18, of Mt. Vernon; Lyle Buzz Delong, 23, of Stotts City; Steven C. Calverly, 30, listed as from Republic; Kimberly K. Henderson, 47, listed as from Stotts City; and Frank J. Sheridan, Jr., 27, of Aurora. Several already in custody by Thursday morning were arraigned in Lawrence County Circuit Court.

[Editor’s Advisory: The following information is disturbing.]

According to the probable cause statement provided by the Lawrence County Circuit Clerk, Pasco was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by and belonging to the surviving shooting victim whose name has not been released. The two of them were parked near the old bandstand on Mt. Vernon Street in Stotts City when Hunter approached the vehicle and asked to get in. After the driver let him in, Hunter produced a handgun which he put to Pasco’s head and instructed the other female to start driving.

Hunter directed them to the residence of Christina Knapp, where upon arriving he instructed Knapp to get his AR-type firearm out of the black Ford Explorer also parked at the house. Upon receipt of the larger weapon, Hunter ordered Pasco and the driver out of the pickup, which both refused.

As Pasco was arguing, Hunter discharged his weapon into the vehicle, and repeated his order for them to exit the vehicle, which both then did.

Hunter then forced both Pasco and the driver to begin digging holes in Knapp’s yard, telling them they were digging their own graves. Knapp’s tenant, Andrew Cypret, was given the AR-type firearm by Hunter, and then sat in a folding lawn chair observing the digging of the holes while Hunter went into the main residence to get a .22, which he told the victims he would be using to “cap them.”

At some point while this was occurring, Cypret’s mother, Kimberly Henderson arrived at Knapp’s residence, and noticing an unattended set of keys on the bumper of Knapp’s car, inquired as to whom they belonged. When the unnamed victim stated they were hers, Henderson picked up the keys and placed them in Hunter’s shirt pocket, telling him, “You are going to be needing these.”

Sheridan and Dunham (who are apparently involved in some type of relationship) also arrived at some point during this time, and Sheridan bandaged a wound Hunter had received earlier in the day.

After having the victims dig the holes in Knapp’s yard for some time, Hunter ordered the victims to stop digging and to get into the trunk of a Toyota Corolla belonging to Cypret. At a point just prior to this, Dunham had told Hunter that she wanted the sunglasses and shoes Pasco was wearing. He took the sunglasses off Pasco’s head and gave them to Dunham, but didn’t take Pasco’s shoes until she was in trunk, saying they were “going to need them where they were going.”

With the victims now in the trunk of his car, Cypret, accompanied by Delong, Parks, and Calverley, drove to a location in rural Lawrence County north of Phelps. Hunter, Sheridan and Dunham followed in the truck belonging to the unnamed female victim.

Upon removing Pasco and the other female from the trunk, Parks got into some kind of physical altercation with Pasco. Hunter then instructed Delong, Parks and Cypret to take the truck and “light it up,” and which point they departed for a location in Dade County where after setting the vehicle on fire, they were apprehended by Dade County Sheriff’s deputies.

Back in Lawrence County, Hunter ordered Pasco and the other victim to climb down into an abandoned well near to where they had stopped. Both individuals complied, and after a brief exchange of words, Hunter opened fire with his handgun, striking Pasco in the head and killing her instantly. The other victim was also wounded, but used Pasco’s body as a shield while Hunter continued shooting into the well. She played dead until Hunter and the others left.

Severely injured by her gunshot wounds, the surviving victim managed to pull herself out of the well and made her way, in the dark, to a nearby residence to ask for help, with Monett-Lawrence County dispatch receiving the call at about 10:14 p.m. She was then evacuated by air ambulance to a Springfield hospital, where she remained as of last report.

Pasco’s body was located later that evening by Miller Rural Fire personnel as they assisted the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office in a search of the area. A visible gunshot wound to the head appeared to be the cause of death.

Over the next several days, suspects were apprehended by law enforcement or surrendered themselves at the Lawrence County Jail. Delong, Parks and Cypret had earlier been captured in Dade County. Siera Dunham was confirmed as in custody on Aug. 18, wearing the shoes taken from Pasco, which were taken into evidence. Calverley and Knapp were reported to be in custody on Aug. 19. Henderson and Sheridan peacefully surrendered themselves to authorities at the Lawrence County Jail the evening of Aug. 19.

The final suspect, Hunter, was tracked to a motel in Branson, where he was apprehended with assistance from a number of law enforcement agencies, including the Branson Police Department, the Taney County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, ATF agents, and the Springfield Police Department. Hunter was informed that the motel was surrounded and that he should give himself up, which he did, and was taken into custody without further incident.

Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay said that detectives of his agency have working together with multiple other law enforcement agencies across southwestern Missouri in tracking down the nine individuals believed to be involved in the incident that took the life Pasco and severely injured the surviving woman. It was through working with these other agencies that Hunter’s location was tracked down to the Branson motel.

“The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office wishes to thank all agencies involved from the beginning as well as the countless tips from citizens who did not rest until all suspects were in custody,” said Sheriff Brad DeLay. “The investigation is really just beginning as all the pieces to this puzzle will now be put into place.”