MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop G Headquarters-1226 W. Bus. Highway 60/63-Willow Springs, MO 65793


News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Martin K. Elmore
417-469-3121, Ext. 241
G-09123
September 19, 2012

EMPHASIS: Patrol Assists With Homicide Investigation/Subject Charged



At approximately 8:14 a.m., on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, officers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to assist the Mansfield Police Department in the investigation of a disturbance at 505 E. Jordan Street in Mansfield, Missouri.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers from the Mansfield Police Department, Wright County Sheriff's Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol made contact with Michael L. Diehle, 33, of Mansfield, at the residence. Diehle was questioned and officers made a cursory sweep of the residence to determine if there were any injured or dangerous individuals on the premises. While the initial sweep of the residence did not produce any other individuals, officers found evidence of a possible assault. At this time, officers withdrew from the residence and began the process of applying for a search warrant.
Officers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control also responded to the scene. Upon obtaining a search warrant, a more thorough search was initiated. At approximately 4 p.m., officers located the body of Jill Suzanne Adamson, 33, of Mansfield, in a cellar on the property.
Michael L. Diehle has been charged with murder in the second degree, armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. Diehle is being held at the Wright County Jail. Bond has been set at $1 million.
The Wright County Coroner's Office, the Douglas County Sheriff's Department, and personnel from the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop D Crime Laboratory assisted. The investigation continues.
The charges for which Diehle was arrested are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

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