Adriaunna Horton, Grabbed 100 ft. From Home, Dead An Hour Later ~ Bobbie Bourne, Jr. Charged With Her Kidnapping, Rape & Murder~ Trial Set For September 2015

This was featured on NG tonight, although as usual Nancy was behind on the story. The girl's body had already been found and an arrest made 2 hours later, but Nancy was still talking about it like it hadn't been solved.

Adriaunna (hope I'm spelling that right) was 12, and was celebrating her first day back at school by going to the park right near her home. Her dad, grandma and grandpa were all at home and she asked if she could go to the park with her younger sister and a friend. Her family said yes, because the park was only 100 feet from the home. While at the park, a vehicle pulled up with a neighbor driving that Adriaunna knew and he asked her if she could help find his missing daughter. She got in his vehicle and disappeared. Less than an hour later she was dead and found in a shallow grave by the tracks, near the park. There were several witnesses at the park who knew the guy driving he was a neighbor, so they arrested him within 2 hours. He would not say where he put her body though, so they were searching for her.

They finally found her and her dad says it was her, although LE is saying they have to conduct tests first to identify her. (Which must mean she was pretty messed up.) Ugh. Her dad had hired this guy at one point to help with yard work because he felt sorry for him.

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The kidnapper's name is Bobby Bourne, and he has kids of his own!

They had him in custody really fast. I suppose his family took it down. He had a lot of comments on there.

08/26/2013
The Barton County Prosecuting Attorney, Steven Kaderly released the Statement of Probable Cause for Bobby Bourne, Jr. on Sunday. The statement is for the charge of Murder in the 1st Degree.

Investigators say that on August 19th around 4:55pm, 12 year old Adriaunna Horton was playing in Hazel Park in Golden City with her two juvenile sisters. Horton was observed by 2 other juveniles, playing in the park at the time, getting into the front passenger door of a blue 1998 Ford Expedition driven by Bobby Don Bourne, Jr. Adriaunna's sisters ran to their grandfathers residence and reported that Adriaunna had left the park with Bourne. Horton's family began a search of the area for her and then reported her missing to Barton County 911 at approximately 5:22pm.

At approximately 7:05pm, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Leemasters, observed the blue 1998 Ford Expedition traveling on Mill Street in Golden City and conducted a traffic stop. Bourne denied picking Horton up at the park and advised he had no knowledge of where she was. Bourne was subsequently arrested and charged with felony Child Kidnapping.

During post-Miranda interviews conducted with Bourne, he admitted to picking Horton up near Hazel Park. He stated that he drove her to an abandoned residence in Golden City and questioned her as to the location of her father, James Horton. Bourne claimed Horton ran away from him, fell down, and died as a result of falling. Bourne* led investigators to a wooded area southeast of Golden City where he advised Horton's body was located. Horton's body was subsequently located by investigators in that general area. Based on observations made of Horton's body there is evidence that she was sexually assaulted. During a subsequent autopsy, the cause of Horton's death was determined to be strangulation.

Vernon Ring, Deputy Sheriff
Barton County Sheriff's Department


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August 24, 2013


LOCKWOOD, Mo. — Brandy L. Bourne said at first she could not believe it when police showed up at her home in this small southwest Missouri town Monday evening, looking for her husband in connection with the kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl.

But in an interview following 34-year-old Bobby Bourne's arrest on charges of rape and murder, Brandy Bourne described her husband as a man with a history of violence who had a falling out with the slain girl's father.

Witnesses saw Bobby Bourne take Adriaunna Horton – a friend of the family – from a park in nearby Golden City and drive off in Brandy's old SUV, according to deputies. Bobby Bourne was arrested later that evening, and two days later, Horton's body was found in a field outside of town.

"I want to believe that none of this happened, but everything points to Bobby," Brandy Bourne said. "People ask me how I could live this long with him, not knowing what kind of person he was. But there's never been anything there to ever suspect anything like this."

Brandy and Bobby met four years ago and were married two years later. They lived together in Lockwood, Mo., with Brandy's daughters from a previous relationship. The family became friends with James Horton and his daughters, including Adriaunna, in 2012 when Horton and Bobby Bourne began working together on home repair jobs.

Brandy said Bobby had been violent with her twice; once was in 2011, when he was arrested in a supermarket parking lot for grabbing her face and shoving her. He faced additional charges after he resisted arrest at the police station. And in another incident not reported to police, Bobby slapped her, she said.

A year later, Bobby Bourne was accused of hitting Brandy's oldest daughter, who was 12 at the time. He was charged with misdemeanor assault, but Brandy and her daughter said the incident was a misunderstanding, and that Bourne had spanked the girl for talking back.

Still, Bobby was sentenced to jail. While there, Brandy continued working with James Horton on home repair jobs. When Bobby got of jail in February, he noticed some of his tools were missing, and he became convinced that James Horton had stolen them, she said.

"He was pretty upset,: Brandy said. "After that, he quit hanging around with James and started doing his own jobs, and he wouldn't allow us to go over there."

Brandy said Bobby had never done anything sexually inappropriate with her daughters, and a week ago she would have said there was "no way" he could sexually assault or murder a child.

But she began to have doubts not long after deputies arrived at her home Monday night. She learned that Bobby didn’t show up for one of his repair jobs Monday morning, and she also found out he failed to keep an appointment for anger-management counseling at 6 p.m. Monday.

Police have said Adriaunna Horton was abducted just before 5 p.m. Monday, and Bobby Bourne was arrested at 7:05 p.m.

Brandy said despite her initial doubts, she's now convinced her husband had a hand in Adriaunna's murder, and she is planning to end her marriage.

"But, yes, there's going to be a break," she said. "A divorce is coming soon."


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August 26, 2013

Bobby D. Bourne Jr., 34, of Lockwood, waived formal reading of the charges against him this afternoon during his arraignment in Barton County Circuit Court on multiple charges in the disappearance and death of Adriaunna Horton.

Bourne, who is charged with the kidnapping, rape and murder of the 12-year-old Golden City girl, was informed of his rights by Associate Circuit Judge Charles Curless during the hearing.

Public Defenders Joe Zuzul and Frank Yankovic appeared in court on Bourne's behalf and were assigned to his case after settling the question of whether Bourne had filed an application for a public defender.

A preharing conference has been set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Bourne initially denied having taken Horton on Aug. 19 from Hazel Park in Golden City where she went to play with her sisters and friends. However, he later admitted having picked her up and directed investigators to the site in neighboring Dade County where her body was recovered two days later, according to probable cause affidavits released over the weekend.

Bourne told investigators that he drove the girl to a vacant home in Golden City to question her as to the whereabouts of her father, James Horton, a former friend and co-worker. Bourne told investigators Adriaunna fell as she tried to run away from him and died as a result of the fall, but an autopsy conducted in Springfield on Thursday found evidence that she had been strangled. Her body also showed signs of sexual assault.

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Bourne also has convictions for domestic assaults, unlawful use of a weapon, DWI and was on probation for domestic violence. According to the documents Bourne was charged with endangering the welfare of a child but not convicted of that charge.  He was put on probation for domestic assault, and already had four previous felony convictions.

It sounds like his wife covered for him a lot, saying her daughter was just spanked and not slapped by him. I suppose she was in denial. He can do his singing in prison.

Poor Adriaunna, thinking he was a family friend.

This is the first I've read this case. OMG!!!!

February 9, 2014

A southwest Missouri prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for a 34-year-old Lockwood man accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a girl who was abducted last summer from a park.

Bobby Bourne Jr. is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and statutory rape in the Aug. 19 abduction of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton. The Joplin Globe reports the girl was abducted from Hazel Park in Golden City and her body found two days later in a wooded area in nearby Dade County.

Barton County prosecutor Steven Kaderly filed notice late last month that he intended to seek the death penalty. Public defenders specializing in capital murder cases have replaced Bourne's local public defenders since then.

Bourne is scheduled to appear at his arraignment Feb. 19.

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02/20/2014

The man accused of the kidnapping and murder of Adriaunna Horton waived formal arraignment today in Barton County and entered a not guilty plea in the case.

Bobby Bourne, who is charged with kidnapping, rape, and first-degree murder in the death of the 12-year-old Barton County girl, is to be back in the courtroom on March 17 for a pre-hearing conference, according to online court records.

According to the court documents, after being arrested, Bourne admitted to picking up Horton near Hazel's Park. He claimed Horton later ran away from him, fell down and died from injuries in the fall.

The probable cause statement says Bourne led investigators to a wooded area southwest of Golden City, where he said Horton's body would be found.

An autopsy showed Adriaunna was strangled to death.

Bourne is being held on $2 million bond.

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February 27, 2014

The attorney for Bobby Bourne Jr. wants jurors chosen in another part of the state to hear the death-penalty case of his client.

Bourne, 34, of Lockwood, is accused of abducting 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton from a Golden City park Aug. 19 and raping and killing her. The Barton County prosecutor filed a motion Jan. 23 stating an intent to seek the death penalty.

Thomas Jacquinot, a capital-murder case attorney with the Missouri public defender’s office, applied for a change of venue Wednesday in Barton County Circuit Court. The motion does not seek to move Bourne’s trial. The document instead asks that a jury be chosen from a county in another part of the state and brought to Lamar for the trial.

The application notes that the case has received statewide media attention, with a particularly high level of publicity from Southwest Missouri media outlets in Joplin and Springfield, and seeks a hearing on the matter March 17.

The request suggests that the defense and prosecution could reach agreement on a county from which jurors are to be selected within 30 days of the court’s approval of the change of venue. The case is currently before Circuit Judge James Bickel.

The judge has yet to rule on the request to change the location of the trial.

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I hope the judge rules the trial should stay in Barton County.

06/19/2014

GOLDEN CITY, MO.--- A trial date of September 21st, 2015, is set for Bobby Bourne Junior of Lockwood. The jurors will be brought in from Buchanan County, but the trial will take place in Barton County. Bobby Bourne Junior is accused of killing Adriaunna Horton in August of last year when he abducted Horton from Hazel's Park in Golden City.  Autopsy results show she died from being strangled and had been sexually assaulted. The Barton County Prosecuting Attorney is seeking the death penalty.


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Apr 20, 2015

LAMAR, Mo. The trial for a man charged with killing a 12-year-old girl in 2013 is now scheduled for the summer of 2016. Bobby Bourne, 35, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and rape for the death of Adriaunna Horton.

A man took Adriaunna away from a park in Golden City, where she was playing after school on Aug. 19, 2013. Searchers found her body two days later near the town. An autopsy found that she was strangled.

Investigators believe Bourne lured Adriaunna into his vehicle. Bourne told police, according to the probable cause statement, that Adriaunna ran away from him and died in a fall.

Circuit Judge James Journey last Friday scheduled jury selection to start on July 5, 2016, in St. Joseph, changing the date from previously-scheduled Oct. 6, 2015. Under the new schedule, the trial would be in Lamar, the county seat of Barton County, starting on July 11, 2016. Prosecutors will seek a death penalty if they get a first-degree murder conviction.

Journey is the third circuit judge assigned to this case. Circuit Judge James Bickel of Nevada had the case first because it’s in his circuit, but defense attorneys asked for a new judge. Greene County Circuit Judge Calvin Holden was then assigned to the case by the Missouri Supreme Court but prosecutors asked for a new judge. Each side in a criminal case usually is granted one change-of-judge motion with no hearing.

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October 14, 2015

LAMAR, Mo. — A judge began hearing testimony Wednesday on a defense motion to suppress statements that Bobby Bourne Jr. made to investigators following his arrest two years ago in the abduction, rape and murder of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton.

Attorneys for the 36-year-old Lockwood man believe that a series of statements made by their client over a five-day period following his arrest on Aug. 19, 2013, should not be allowed into evidence at his capital murder trial set to start July 11 of next year.

Thomas Jacquinot and Patrick Berrigan of the state public defender's office argue in a motion filed in Barton County Circuit Court that the statements were obtained by "unlawful and coercive law enforcement tactics" and fail to meet the constitutional standard for "voluntary" utterances of the accused.

They say Bourne was subjected to interrogations over the five-day period without access to an attorney and while he was undergoing withdrawal from painkillers and methamphetamine, and being kept in a booking area of the Barton County Jail where it was nearly impossible for him to sleep.

The motion reads: "Continuous efforts were made to interfere with Mr. Bourne's efforts to seek and consult with legal counsel. The police also made illegal promises of leniency during the several days of interrogation."

The defense also says that a public defender, who was representing Bourne on a probation violation filed at the time of his arrest, tried to see him at the Jasper County Jail, where he was transferred for security reasons on Aug. 23, 2013, and was prevented from doing so by Jasper County sheriff's Capt. Derek Walrod.

The public defender had spoken to Bourne at the jail by telephone, and investigators had heard that he'd had contact with an attorney and wanted to know if Bourne was still willing to talk to them, Walrod testified at the hearing. He said he asked Bourne and was told he still wished to speak with investigators and he relayed that to them. He acknowledged that he later refused to let the public defender in to talk with him.

"What I told him was that Mr. Bourne had not asked for an attorney, and I was not going to let him in," Walrod said.

The motion to suppress is one of several motions being taken up at a three-day hearing before Circuit Judge James Journey. Among other motions to be considered is one seeking dismissal of the prosecution's notice to seek the death penalty in the case. Court filings suggest that the judge may take testimony and arguments made at the hearing under advisement and rule on the motions at a later date.

The prosecution called several dispatchers at the jail in Lamar and a couple of investigators involved in interviews of the defendant to testify Wednesday that the defendant repeatedly asked to speak with investigators and was advised of his rights to remain silent and to legal counsel at several points during the five-day period in question.

The Horton girl was reported missing about 5 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2013, from a park in Golden City. Other children who had been with her in the park, including her sisters, reported that Bourne had picked her up.
Bourne had been a close friend of the girl's father, James Horton, and their families had associated frequently in the past. But an extramarital affair between James Horton and Bourne's wife, Brandy, had turned the friendship sour, and prosecutors see a revenge motive behind the crime.

The defendant was arrested about two hours after the girl disappeared when a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped his vehicle on the outskirts of Golden City.

Jordan Justus, a former deputy with the Barton County sheriff's office, and Sgt. Roger Renken of the state patrol testified as to their involvement in the series of interviews of Bourne that followed his arrest.

Under direct examination by Kevin Zoellner, an assistant attorney general prosecuting the case, Renken explained to the court how Bourne's story changed over the course of the five days in question. Renken said Bourne would not consent to a search of his vehicle the night of his arrest. He did agree initially to polygraph and sexual assault examinations but ended up backing out of the sexual assault exam on Aug. 19 and aborted a first effort at a polygraph exam the next day.

Bourne had initially denied any involvement in the girl's disappearance, although he admitted having gone to the park twice with another Golden City man and talking to the children there.

When he spoke to his sister at the jail on Aug. 20 and subsequently submitted to a polygraph examination the same day, he changed his story and claimed that the other man took his SUV and must have been the culprit who abducted the girl. Renken told the court how Bourne's story continued to evolve, with the suspect admitting on Aug. 21 to being present when the other man killed the girl and leading investigators to her body.

When confronted with information that investigators had confirmed the alibi of the other man he was implicating in the crime, Bourne finally admitted having acted alone and led investigators to where he had disposed of the girl's clothes, about 40 yards from where they found her body, Renken said.
But he continued to insist the girl was killed when she fell on a stick while running away from him at an abandoned trailer home where he had stopped to question her regarding the whereabouts of her father.

STATEMENTS MADE TO INVESTIGATORS
Aug. 19: During initial interviews at the law enforcement command post in Golden City and at the Barton County Jail, suspect Bobby Bourne denied having anything to do with the disappearance of Adriaunna Horton, although he acknowledged having gone to the park twice in his sport utility vehicle with another Golden City man and having spoken with children there.

Aug. 20: Bourne tells sister in recorded interview at the jail of plotting with the other Golden City man to kidnap the Horton girl for money. He explains that they intended to pass her on to her birth mother who lived in Kansas City and did not have custody. Bourne tells investigators that the other man played the primary role in the crime and takes them to some discarded paper towels that he claims will implicate the other man.

Aug. 21:Bourne tells investigators that the other man approached him with the plot to kidnap the girl on behalf of her mother and that he was to be paid $500 and the other man $2,000. He claims that when they picked up the girl, the other man climbed into the back seat of Bourne's SUV with her, made a comment to him that her mother would not be showing up and strangled the girl. Bourne tells them that the other man made him drive down a rutted field road and then carried the girl's body into some woods. He takes investigators to a cornfield and woods southeast of town where the girl's body is found wearing nothing but a T-shirt.

Aug. 22: In an interview interrupted several times by the defendant's emotional breakdowns, Bourne allegedly admits to having acted alone when finally confronted with information that investigators had confirmed the other man's alibi. Bourne claims the girl fell and mortally injured herself on a stick trying to run away from him at an abandoned trailer home in Golden City, and that he then hauled her body to the woods by the cornfield. He shows them a hole where he buried her clothes about 40 feet from where her body was recovered.

Aug. 23: Following transfer to the Jasper County Jail for security reasons, Bourne again insists that the girl fell on a stick that he had to pull out of her mouth. When told that he was being charged with rape as well as kidnapping and murder, he starts yelling at investigators that there was no sexual assault.


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October 15, 2015

LAMAR, Mo. — State prosecutors Thursday dismissed the rape charge that Bobby Bourne Jr. has been facing in the slaying of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton, acknowledging a lack of any serological evidence of a sexual assault.

The decision to drop the count of first-degree statutory rape was announced near the conclusion of a two-day hearing in Barton County Circuit Court on pretrial motions during which certain details of the capital murder case were made public for the first time.

Bourne remains charged with child kidnapping and first-degree murder.

The hearing was dominated by testimony related to a defense motion to suppress statements that the 36-year-old Lockwood man purportedly made to investigators over a five-day period following his arrest in the disappearance of the girl Aug. 19, 2013, from a park in Golden City.

Circuit Judge James Journey will rule on the motion to suppress sometime after Jan. 15, the deadline he set for the prosecution and defense to file suggested findings from the hearing. The judge also set a hearing Feb. 26 at which he'll hear arguments on a defense motion to dismiss the state's notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The case is set for trial July 11 of next year.

Bourne, who was arrested within two hours of the girl's disappearance, led investigators to her body in a wooded area near a cornfield southeast of Golden City two days after the crime. There was testimony at the hearing that the body was clad in only a T-shirt.

On Aug. 22, Bourne took detectives to a hole where he purportedly disposed of her other clothes about 40 feet from where her body was recovered. Sgt. Roger Renken of the Missouri State Highway Patrol had testified Wednesday that the seminude state of the body caused investigators to suspect sexual assault.
In announcing dismissal of the rape charge on Thursday, Kevin Zoellner, the assistant attorney general trying the case with Barton County Prosecutor Steven Kaderly, told the judge that while an autopsy discovered no serological evidence of rape, there still are reasons to believe that the defendant tried to assault her sexually, including bruises consistent with rape.

There was testimony Wednesday that Bourne had spent time with a Golden City resident, using drugs and engaging in sex with him earlier in the afternoon that the girl was abducted. Zoellner said Bourne came away from the sexual tryst feeling frustrated since the other man was able to perform but Bourne could not. He later tried to implicate that man in the crime, but investigators were able to confirm the other man's alibi.

The state maintains that Bourne also harbored a revenge motive for abducting and killing the girl that had its roots in sexual jealousy because the girl's father, James Horton, had an affair with Bourne's wife while Bourne was serving time in jail.

Zoellner told the judge that while the rape charge was being dismissed, the state intends to keep attempted rape as one of five statutory aggravating circumstances cited in its notice of intent to seek the death penalty. That particular article of the notice alleges that the murder was committed in the course of "a felony of any degree of rape."
"An attempted rape, judge, is a degree of rape," Zoellner said.

Defense attorneys Tom Jacquinot and Patrick Berrigan called witnesses Thursday to support their claim that statements Bourne made during his first five days in custody were obtained through "coercive law enforcement tactics" and did not meet the constitutional standard for voluntary utterances of a suspect.
Bourne's sister, Brandy Sewell, who visited him at the Barton County Jail the day after his arrest, testified that he told her that he had been using methamphetamine and hydrocodone and consuming energy drinks the day of the crime and had not slept since his arrest. He was shaking, seemed tired and kept nodding off, she said.

A former book-in officer at the Jasper County Jail and one of her supervisors testified that Bourne was sweating, shaking and showing other signs of withdrawal from drugs when he was transferred there on Aug. 23.

Frank Yankoviz, a public defender, testified that he called the Jasper County Jail that day and talked to Bourne. Following an assurance of Bourne's waiver of attorney-client privilege from Berrigan, Yankoviz testified that Bourne told him that he had been asking for his public defender, Joe Zuzul, since his arrest five days earlier.

Yankoviz said that when he later spoke with Capt. Derek Walrod of the Jasper County sheriff's office by telephone he was informed that he would not be let in to see Bourne.

On cross-examination by Zoellner, Yankoviz acknowledged that he did not represent Bourne when he called the jail and that he did not know that anyone else in his office did either, although another public defender in his office had represented Bourne at one time.


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