Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Moberly woman has been charged after a child died last month in an accidental shooting.
Jo Timmons, 37, was charged on Thursday with five counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. She is being held at the Randolph County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.
Randolph County Prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford said because one count resulted in the death of a child, Timmons faces a sentencing range of 10 years to life in prison, including the possibility of a 30-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections, if found guilty. The remaining counts are Class D felonies, each punishable up to seven years in prison.
The probable cause statement says authorities were called on Jan. 18 for a report of an 11-year-old having a gunshot wound. The child later died from their injuries, law enforcement wrote. Previous reporting indicates a fifth-grade student from Moberly had died in a gun accident the same weekend.
The statement says a 12-year-old helped deputies find the handgun in a dresser. Timmons allegedly told deputies that she left three children – a 10-year-old and two 7-year-olds – alone while she went to collect a paycheck that day, the statement says.
She had allegedly received a phone call indicating a vehicle the children did not know had entered the driveway, the statement says. She then received a phone call minutes later from a girl claiming she shot someone, the heavily redacted court documents say.
Law enforcement took statements from the children, who also claimed an unknown vehicle entered the driveway, they hid in a bedroom and a handgun accidentally went off when a child grabbed the gun, the statement says.
One of the children claimed the safety for the gun was on, but they did not know there was a bullet loaded in the chamber, court documents say.
The probable cause statement also notes that “[REDACTED] were placed in a different home.” However, when asked if the children were all belonged to Timmons, Luntsford said she could not go into detail due to the nature of the case.
“All I can really probably say at this time is that there either have been or were several children residing in this home,” Luntsdorsford said.
Deputies noted poor living conditions for the children, including smell of feces and urine being persistent throughout the home, as well as various trash, including loose pills and used condoms, being found.
A cockroach-infested shotgun was also found on the wall of Timmons’ bedroom, the deputy wrote. Interviewers with witnesses also claimed the handgun was “not always kept secure,” court documents say.
Luntsford said the living conditions factored into the child endangerment charges.
“All of us might have a different standard on what’s acceptable as how we should keep our house clean,” Luntsford said. “But if it rises above a level where it seems to be very unsanitary to the point that it is probably posing a danger to the child either because it’s very unhealthy or the situation in which they are living may be unsafe in some way, then we would look at charging endangering.”
Luntsford added there are no other current suspects at this time.
“My office has received information regarding this defendant. So we have addressed that,” Luntsford said. “I am uncertain at this time if there will be any further reports regarding any other potential defendants.”
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