Jose Huckleberry Charged With The Stabbing Deaths Of Donald (81) and Helen (80) Willingham

Wednesday, April 27 2011

 (Greene County, MO) -- The Greene County Sheriff's Office continues its investigation on a missing couple near Willard.

Sheriff Jim Arnott says he has at least two detectives working several leads on the whereabouts of Russell and Rebecca Porter. They went missing from their home off Highway HH more than a week ago.

At the same time the sheriff has four or five detectives working the crime scene at the Willingham's home.  The couple was found stabbed to death on Monday.

And there are at least five more detectives tracking down leads and information on a possible murder suspect.

"As far as dividing resources we're doing everything we can and I can tell you that I know my staff is not getting much sleep but it really doesn't matter to them because they're committed to trying to figure out exactly what happened," says Sheriff Jim Arnott.

The horse mounted Sheriff's Posse and State Patrol helicopter have also helped in the investigations.

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I've added a video re: the stabbing death in the same area of The Willingham's.
Could these two cases be related?????

April 28, 2011|By Emily Rittman, Ben Knaup | Reporter, Photographer

Greene County, Mo — Two unsolved investigations are dividing the Greene County Sheriff's Office's detective division. Detectives are split trying to solve a double murder and find two missing and endangered people.

At the Willingham home on Swan Drive south of Springfield and at the Porter home on Highway HH in Willard, the crime scene tape is gone but many questions remain. Families in both cases want to keep their loved ones' names and faces in the public eye to hopefully get answers.

Willingham Family's Pleas

“I would just ask all of you to look at their pictures,” Don and Helen Willingham’s niece Cindy Dollarhide said through tears. “That's our family.” The Willingham’s family want their killer caught. Someone stabbed them to death inside their home April 25 around 5:45 in the morning. "They were somebody's mom, somebody's dad and they had some 30 nieces and nephews," Dollarhide said.

In the Willingham murder investigation, the crime lab will determine whose DNA was left inside the couple’s home. “DNA is easily left behind,” Arnott told reporters at a Wednesday news conference with the Willingham’s family. “We're coordinating with the highway patrol lab to get a rush on some of the evidence.” Surveillance pictures may be another clue. Detectives want to question a man caught on camera at a nearby Kum & Go convenience store. Investigators say the man in the photos matches a witnesses’ description of a man running from the Willingham home the day of the killings. Arnott says they have not interviewed the man. “It’s an unidentified person we want to identify,” Arnott said. Investigators are not calling him a suspect.

Balancing Two Unsolved Investigations

Arnott told reporters he would not be available for interviews on either case Thursday. “We have received 96 leads that we are following up on in reference to the Willingham murders,” Arnott wrote in an email news release. “We have had several detectives work in excess of 30 hours straight. I have sent several of them home for sleep. I, along with approximately 8 other investigators, continue following up on various leads.”

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Cindy Dollarhyde, neice of Donald and Helen Willingham, Making a statement with other family members, Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 2919 W. Swan, the home of the Willingham's and crime scene.

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott said he feels confident about the progress made in investigations into a missing Willard couple and a murdered elderly couple, but detectives are still looking for more information from residents.

“There is somebody (in the public) with information in both of these cases. . . We need these people, even if they think the information they have is minor,” Arnott said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911, the Greene County Sheriff's Office at 868-4040 or Crime Stoppers at 869-TIPS (8477).

Russell and Rebecca Porter have been missing since April 17. Detectives have searched their home on State Highway HH, collecting 210 pieces of evidence but have yet to announce any new developments in the case.

On April 25, deputies responding to an early morning 911 call of an intruder found Donald and Helen Willingham stabbed to death in their home.

Arnott said detectives have collected significant amounts of evidence in both cases — specifically DNA — that they hope can be processed quickly.

He said detectives have made numerous contacts with people who look similar to the man pictured in a convenience store photo released earlier this week. He said detectives have not yet made a confirmed match and that the person in the photo remains someone detectives want to talk to, not necessarily a suspect or a person of interest.

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Authorities are hoping for help in the investigation from the man shown in this surveillance still from a Kum & Go near the home where Don and Helen Willingham were murdered Monday morning.

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The Greene County Sheriff's Office is seeking the indiidual in the photograph for questioning. He was recorded at a local Kum & Go convenience stroe on April 25 between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office by calling 911, the Sheriff's Office at 417-868-4040, Crime Stoppers at 4117-869-TIPS, or the Greene County TIPS line at 829-6230. Callers may remain anonymous and a reward may be offered for any information that leads to an arrest.

Arnott said no suspects or persons of interest have been named at this time in either case. He said detectives are still chasing leads and narrowing down their information.

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Update: Man in Surveillance No Longer Suspect, Detectives Collecting DNA from Neighbors of Double Homicide Victims Don and Helen Willingham,
One neighbor tells KSPR News he gladly gave a DNA sample in hopes of speeding up investigation

Neighbors Say Things Have Changed Since Willinghams' Murder Neighbors Say Things Have Changed Since Willinghams' Murder

Emily Rittman, Ben Knaup Reporter, Photographer

2:39 p.m. CDT, May 6, 2011

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4:03 p.m. Update: Greene County News Release: The Greene County Sheriff’s Office previously released the Kum & Go surveillance photos of the subject pictured above. This subject is a suspect in a theft investigation that occurred the morning of the Willingham homicides from a neighborhood in the vicinity of the homicide scene. While the identity of this man is still unknown, it has been determined that this individual was captured at multiple retail locations outside of the vicinity of the homicides attempting to utilizing a stolen credit card at and during the time of the Willingham homicides. This new information has eliminated this individual as a potential suspect in the homicide investigation. This individual pictured above is still sought as a suspect in a Greene County theft case. The Greene County Sheriff wishes to thank the media for the coverage as well as the public for the responses generated because of these surveillance photos.

Willingham Investigation:

Detectives are now asking neighbors who live near the home where two elderly missionaries were stabbed to death for DNA samples. Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott says DNA could crack the case of one of the most brutal killings he's seen in his career. Investigators want to compare DNA to possible DNA found inside the Willinghams’ home.

“I'm forever changed,” neighbor Debbie McDougal said. Twelve days after the couple’s killings all is quiet on Swan Drive. For many it’s too quiet. “Everyone is kind of standoffish to have our kids running around,” neighbor Steve Welch said. After the double homicide, even adults are changing their behaviors. McDougal now uses a security system every night. “It’s hard to get a lot of sleep,” McDougal said. “If I hear a noise in the night, I jump up.”

On Friday, detectives came back to the neighborhood to collect DNA from some neighbors to compare to possible DNA found at the scene of the crime. Officers say the attack was brutal and the suspect likely has wounds. “I will do it because anything that can cut out a suspect and narrow down to the one that actually did the heinous crime,” Welch said. “It's reasonable to me, get my DNA and rule me out.”

The couple traveled the world as missionaries which makes their untimely deaths more difficult for neighbors to understand. “The family needs it. The neighbors need it,” McDougal said. “It is very scary that this guy is still out there he needs to be caught and brought to justice. It easily could have been us or anyone in the neighborhood. To target an older couple is horrible.”

Days after the killings, detectives released Kum & Go convenience store surveillance photos. They've questioned several people who matched a witness' description of the suspect and the man in the photos but no charges are filed. “It's been surreal, really they were the nicest couple on the block,” Welch said. “I want the closer for the family I don't think a person like that needs to be walking around."

The Willinghams' families are offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the couple's killer. Anyone with information can call the sheriff's office at 417-868-4040.

Greene County Sheriff’s News Release:

At 5:44 on April 25, Helen Willingham called 911 from her residence at 2919 W. Swan Drive to report that a male intruder was inside her home and assaulting her husband Don Willingham. A disturbance could be heard in the back ground before the line was disconnected.

A neighbor called 911 to report that he had chased a suspicious person from the Willingham residence before he returned to discover the body of Don Willingham inside his home. Deputies arrived to discover both Don and Helen Willingham dead. Autopsies revealed that both had died from multiple stab wounds.

The neighbor described the fleeing suspect as a:

*white or Hispanic male with a dark complexion.

*clean shaven.

*slim to medium build.

*dressed in a black or a dark pull over sweatshirt or “hoodie”, in black or dark baggy pants and black boots or shoes.

Greene County investigators are collecting evidence and following leads however a suspect has not been identified at this time. Persons of interest may have sustained injuries to the face, arms or hands such as scrapes, cuts, or lacerations.

The sheriff's office urges anyone with information about this crime to call 911, the Greene County Sheriff's Office at 417-868-4040, or Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS(8477). Callers may remain anonymous.

Porter Investigation:

The families of two missing and endangered people are also offering thousands for information. Rebecca and Russell Porter disappeared from their Willard home on HH Highway in Willard on April 17th. Rebecca Porter's car, purse, medication and cell phone were left behind. The family says the home smelled of bleach. Investigators renewed a search of 120 acres near the couple’s home this week but say they found nothing significant. Anyone with information can call the Greene County Sheriff's Office.

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Brutal Double Homicide Unsolved Six Months Later, Family is Optimistic Charges are Coming
Sixteen locations searched besides the home of slain Don and Helen Willingham

Greene County, Mo— A crime that horrified family members, friends and neighbors remains unsolved six months later. On April 25, someone stabbed Don and Helen Willingham to death inside their home south of Springfield. With more than 500 pieces of evidence collected, it is entering the crime lab in waves. The Greene County Sheriff tells KSPR News detectives served search warrants at 16 locations other than the Willingham's home.
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At the link there's videos both on the Willinghams and the Porters.

Feb. 5, 2013

Jose A. Huckleberry



A suspect has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing of a Greene County couple 22 months ago.
Jose A. Huckleberry, now 25, told Greene County investigators he “participated in the murders of Donald and Helen Willingham,” both 79, at their home just south of Springfield on April 25, 2011, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
 
Sheriff Jim Arnott along with Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson held a press conference this afternoon to announce the charges.
“This investigation is still ongoing,” Arnott said, though he would not say if he anticipates any other arrests. Shortly after the deaths, two suspects were arrested and held on unrelated charges. The pair were later released after investigators failed to gather enough evidence to charge them.

Huckleberry is charged with the murder counts, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of first degree burglary. He told officers on April 30, 2012 and May 1, 2012 that he entered the Willingham’s residence “intending to ‘rob’ it,” according to the probable cause statement. That statement does not include a specific admission by Huckleberry regarding the killings of the couple other than the note that he “participated.”
However, Patterson said in the bond recommendation that Huckleberry, “when confronted killed both by stabbing them,” referring to the Willinghams. When Patterson was asked to elaborate on the differences between documents, he said he couldn’t comment, citing ethics rules for prosecutors.

The suspect is currently in the Missouri Department of Corrections after violating terms of his probation and in an unrelated second-degree burglary. Huckleberry had an anticipated release date of Friday.

Arnott said Tuesday that circumstances pushed police and investigators to file charges today. He declined to be specific.
Huckleberry is currently being held without bond on charges filed at 2 p.m. Documents say Huckleberry had numerous misdemeanor convictions of assault on a law enforcement officer and violations of order of protection, along with municipal-level common assaults and misdemeanor domestic assault.

Children of the Willinghams, who attended a news conference held by Arnott today in the case, said they were grateful for the work of investigators. David Willingham said he has “been looking forward to (this day) for some time.”
Both David Willingham, a son, and Donna Fedor, a daughter, said their parents wouldn’t have held a grudge against Huckleberry, so they will not either. They called the day “bittersweet.”
“We just want the truth,” Donna Fedor said. “We want the truth to come out.”

According to a frantic, 39-second call Helen Willingham made to 911, an intruder had entered the home at 2919 W. Swan and was assaulting her husband. Deputies arrived six minutes later to find the two dead from multiple stab wounds.

Arnott said 519 pieces of evidence had been identified and tested during the investigation. The sheriff had 20, three-inch binders of information on the case at the front of the room today. He said some evidence is still out to be tested.
On multiple occasions, Arnott has asked — even begged — the public to come forward with information that might lead to an arrest in the case.
After the funeral, David Willingham said people sent cards from around the world in memory of their parents.

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Jun. 19, 2013

A state prison inmate has been ordered to stand trial for the 2011 stabbing deaths of an elderly couple in their southwest Missouri home.
According to media reports, Greene County judge found sufficient evidence to try 25-year-old Jose Huckleberry on two counts of first-degree murder plus burglary and armed criminal action. The ruling followed a preliminary hearing Monday.
Huckleberry was charged in February with killing 80-year-old Helen Willingham and her 81-year-old husband, Don Willingham, at their home west of Springfield.
At the time of the killings, Huckleberry was awaiting trial on a burglary charge for which he’s now serving five years.



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