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Independence, MO —
The man who has long been a person of interest in the disappearance of Summer Shipp has now been charged with her murder.
Jeffrey S. Sauerbry, 40, of Independence was charged Friday with first-degree murder in the death of Shipp, who disappeared in December 2004 while conducting door-to-door surveys in an Independence neighborhood.
In October 2007, fishermen found Shipp’s remains in the Little Blue River. Sauerbry, who lived in the neighborhood where Shipp was last seen, has been the focus of the investigation since she first went missing.
According to the probable cause statement released by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Sauerbry confessed to an acquaintance that he killed Shipp because he thought she was a government spy. During the confession, Sauerbry went into detail of how he killed Shipp and disposed of her body.
Sauerbry was convicted at 3 p.m. Friday of an unrelated homicide – the 1998 death of William Kellett. The security guard at a car dealership was found dead in a shed, stabbed several times. A grand jury indicted Sauerbry in 2009 for killing Kellett. The two men had apparently fought at a poker game.
Sauerbry actually confessed to Shipp’s death a month ago, but charges were left sealed until after the first murder trial. He had initially denied that he had anything to do with Shipp’s disappearance or murder. He gave several different statements to investigators as to where he was when the Independence woman went missing. According to the probably cause statement, he admitted to a witness in 2008 that he “knew a lot about Shipp’s disappearance.” A detective in the case interviewed the witness in June when the confession was revealed.
The man who has long been a person of interest in the disappearance of Summer Shipp has now been charged with her murder.
Jeffrey S. Sauerbry, 40, of Independence was charged Friday with first-degree murder in the death of Shipp, who disappeared in December 2004 while conducting door-to-door surveys in an Independence neighborhood.
In October 2007, fishermen found Shipp’s remains in the Little Blue River. Sauerbry, who lived in the neighborhood where Shipp was last seen, has been the focus of the investigation since she first went missing.
According to the probable cause statement released by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Sauerbry confessed to an acquaintance that he killed Shipp because he thought she was a government spy. During the confession, Sauerbry went into detail of how he killed Shipp and disposed of her body.
Sauerbry was convicted at 3 p.m. Friday of an unrelated homicide – the 1998 death of William Kellett. The security guard at a car dealership was found dead in a shed, stabbed several times. A grand jury indicted Sauerbry in 2009 for killing Kellett. The two men had apparently fought at a poker game.
Sauerbry actually confessed to Shipp’s death a month ago, but charges were left sealed until after the first murder trial. He had initially denied that he had anything to do with Shipp’s disappearance or murder. He gave several different statements to investigators as to where he was when the Independence woman went missing. According to the probably cause statement, he admitted to a witness in 2008 that he “knew a lot about Shipp’s disappearance.” A detective in the case interviewed the witness in June when the confession was revealed.
