Missouri police kill suspect in 2 deaths

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man accused of holding his former girlfriend captive in a crate at their home in western Missouri and then fatally shooting her and her teenage son, was shot and killed Saturday, authorities said.

Law enforcement officers killed James Barton Horn Jr., 47, at a state wildlife area in western Missouri, south of Knob Noster, Henry County Sheriff Kent Oberkrom said.

Authorities have been searching for Horn since late April when he was charged in the kidnapping of 46-year-old Sandra Kay Sutton. Prosecutors said Sutton told police that Horn kept her in a wooden crate off-and-on for four months at their home in Sedalia, some 90 miles southeast of Kansas City, Mo.

Sutton and her 17-year-old son, Zachary Wade Sutton, were found dead Thursday at a relative’s home in Clinton, about 45 miles from Sedalia. Police said the victims had been shot to death. Sutton moved in with her relatives after she escaped the home she had shared with Horn.

Oberkrom said officers found Horn hiding in a closet in a building at the J.N. Turkey Kearn Memorial Wildlife Area, about 70 miles southeast of Kansas City. He said officers were led to the area by a tip they received Saturday morning.

When officers told him to surrender, Horn threatened the officers with a weapon, Oberkrom said. He did not know what kind of weapon Horn had.