Several charged in shooting murder

By: 
Steve Chapman

About 75 feet west of County Road 1080, sits this rock lined well, which is Civil War era and approximately 25
feet deep, according to local farmer Kiman Kinglsey, who rents the property. Divers retrieved the body of Pasco from the well the morning of Monday, Aug. 18.

Lt. Chris Berry, with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office recovers a .22 bullet found on the gravel road next to
the crime scene. (Photos by Ryan Squibb)

Emergency crews from Newton County Rescue and Recovery and Miller Fire Department are on hand to help recover—out of a hand-dug well—the body of Sarah Pasco, who was murdered the evening prior.

 Surrounded by crop fields, two victims left for dead in abandoned well—one survived
 
At least five people have been charged in the murder of an Aurora woman, that took place the night of Aug. 16, 3 1/2 miles west of Miller.
Gary Hunter, Jr., Lyle B. Delong, Andrew J. Cypret, Diona L. Parks and Siera Dunham are accused of murdering Sarah Pasco, 27, of Aurora. All five face charges of First-Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action and First- Degree Assault. A press release from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Aug. 18, announced that Cypret, Delong and Parks had been charged with Pasco’s murder. Online records showed that Hunter and Dunham had also been charged.
How it allegedly began
According to the probable cause statement, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office received a call on the night of Sunday, Aug. 16, to help a woman who had been found shot and bleeding. The woman, identified in the probable cause as “confidential victim,” said she and Pasco had been told to get into an abandoned well. The rock-lined well is part of a former homestead, now abandoned, in rural Lawrence County on County Road 1080, one half mile west of Highway UU, on property owned by Frank Standhardt.
A man she identified as “Gary” asked them, “Where is (redacted)?” Pasco told him that she didn’t know, and Gary responded by saying “You can thank (redacted)” and then allegedly shot Pasco in the head, causing her to die instantly. The other victim was also shot, but said she managed to survive by hiding under Pasco’s body and playing dead until Gary and another person left.
 Later, according to the statement, another detective spoke with Cypret. In a post-Miranda interview, Cypret admitted to driving a Toyota Corolla with Pasco and the other victim in the trunk. While he, Delong, Parks and another person (not named because he hadn’t been charged as of press time) were in the cabin of the vehicle. After the car was parked and the trunk was opened, he said Parks exited the vehicle and had an altercation with one of the women in the trunk.
Cypret reportedly told the detective that Hunter—the alleged gunman— was driving a truck that belonged to the confidential victim. Hunter allegedly stopped the truck and got Pasco and the confidential victim out of the trunk of the car, and told the others to take the truck and go. Cypret said they did leave the area.
Later, Cypret told the detective, he got a phone call from Hunter stating, ‘I need you to light up the truck or you are going to really screw me.’ Cypret said he removed his shirt and gave it to Delong, who stuffed it into the truck’s gas reservoir; Parks then supplied the lighter that was used to light the shirt and burn the truck.
In custody
As of press time, Dunham, Parks, Cypret and Delong were in custody at the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. It was not immediately clear what Dunham’s role was in the case; her name was not mentioned in the probable cause statement.
This is a developing story, and the Record will continue to report on it as more information becomes available.
 

 

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

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