KANSAS Town, Mo. (WDAF) – Two Missouri gentlemen confront rates following prosecutors say they retained a missing lady locked in a cage on their property, in accordance to court data.
Timothy L. Norton and James D. Phelps were each billed with 1 rely of first-degree kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting damage, and terrorizing, a class B felony.
On Aug. 25, regulation enforcement took a report of a lacking lady, who was last viewed 6 weeks prior.
According to court paperwork, on Sept. 16, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office environment was contacted by an FBI agent in Kansas City about an anonymous tip. The tipster advised there was a image demonstrating the missing woman partly nude and becoming held in a cage.
The final human being to have seen her was James Phelps, according to court docket documents.
On Sept. 1, a detective spoke to Phelps at his residence in Lebanon, Missouri. He reported that the female had been keeping with him right up until she could get again on her feet, court documents explained. He reported she had been conversing about going to Colorado.
According to court files, Phelps advised the detective that about a month prior, she still left in the middle of the evening and satisfied a motor vehicle at the close of the driveway in the dark and had not been viewed or listened to from due to the fact.
The detective observed the loft on the property seemed like it experienced been “stripped,” and they did not observe any of the woman’s belongings in the loft at that time.
On Sept. 16, investigators secured a lookup warrant for James Phelps’ cellphone. That’s when they explained they discovered seven photographs of the girl partly nude in a cage.
In the course of the investigation, detectives explained they recognized Timothy Norton as remaining linked to the situation.
In accordance to court docket documents, Norton was initially interviewed on Sept. 19 and just after his job interview, officers identified he had delivered information that was not precise. He advised investigators he is a trucker and lived in his truck even when he was not actively operating, police stated.
Norton was interviewed once again on Sept. 20 at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office environment. In the course of that job interview, law enforcement mentioned Norton confessed that he understood the missing woman was currently being held at the home of James Phelps in a cage.
Court docket records claimed he also explained to detectives that on July 24, Phelps contacted him to appear to his property to enable restrain the victim, which he did.
James Phelps was assigned a public defender in Dallas County court docket Tuesday. The general public defender’s business did not return a request for remark. His upcoming courtroom day is Oct. 5.
Timothy Norton appeared in court docket Tuesday with out a lawyer by online video convention. He was moved to the Greene County Jail. He is also in court docket Oct. 5.
Both equally adult males are staying held with no bond.
