Stone County Woman Sentenced in 2019 Murder Case

A woman has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a 2019 Murder.

The Stone County woman pleads guilty and has been sentenced on charges from 2019, when she was initially charged with domestic assault, abuse of elderly, arson and murder.

Elizabeth Horn, 31, of Reeds Spring, was sentenced to 21 years for second-degree murder and seven years for 1st Degree property damage in the Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin on Wednesday, July 7. Horn’s sentences are to run concurrently. 

According to Branson Tri-Lakes News archives, on Nov. 16, 2019, Stone County deputies were dispatched to a residence on Missouri State Highway OO for an ex parte violation. As the deputies were en route, they were advised the suspect had set fire to the home. 

Southern Stone County Fire Public Information Officer Eric Nielsen said the house fire on OO Highway was called in by a passerby who also said there was a female on scene acting suspicious. The occupant was not home at the time of the fire, according to the archives. 

According to a probable cause statement from Sept. 26, 2019, just weeks before the fire, a Stone County deputy was dispatched to the same home as the fire about an assault and violation of an ex parte. The resident told the deputy Horn pushed the door open and attacked him by striking him repeatedly with a closed fist to his upper body and head, which left a 2-inch cut on his right arm, a small cut on his forehead and a cut near his left ear.

The resident said he was in fear for his safety and had filed an ex parte against Horn the day before.  

The ex parte was issued on Sept. 25, 2019. A full order of protection against Horn was ordered on Oct. 10, 2019. In that case, Horn was charged with two felonies: second-degree assault and third-degree domestic assault, as well as two counts of misdemeanor resisting arrest and one count of misdemeanor abuse of elderly, according to court records. 

Horn was arrested at the scene of the fire and was initially booked into the Stone County Jail on a 24-hour hold for arson, according to archives. 

While she was being booked into the Stone County Jail she stated, “I killed someone today.” When asked who she had killed, Horn shared the name of her victim but refused to answer any more questions until she spoke with her attorney, according to the probable cause statement.

Due to her statement, the deputy requested central dispatch search for the name she gave to try to locate an address. Central dispatch was able to find the address of the person Horn said she killed, according to a probable cause statement from Nov. 16, 2019. 

(Story by A.J. Meakins, Branson Tri-Lakes News)