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

Troop D Headquarters, 3131 East Kearney Street, Springfield, Missouri 65803


News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Jason M. Pace
417-895-6868
D302013
November 20, 2013

EMPHASIS: Charges Filed For The Homicide Of Khighla Parks and Theresa Mohler


The Missouri State Highway Patrol announces that the Missouri Attorney General’s Office has filed charges for the 2012 homicide of Khighla Parks and the 2008 homicide of Theresa Mohler.
On September 21, 2012, 15-year-old Khighla Parks went missing from her residence near Willard, Missouri. The Greene County Sheriff's Department took a missing person report and began an investigation. On September 30, 2012, the body of a deceased, juvenile female was discovered in Truman Lake, Benton County, Missouri. This juvenile female was later identified as being Khighla Parks. At this time, the Benton County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control’s Troop A Unit, in Lee's Summit, Missouri, became involved in the investigation and determined that Parks' death was a homicide. As the investigation progressed, investigators developed information indicating that incidents leading to the death of Parks occurred in Dallas County, Missouri. The Dallas County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control’s Troop D Unit, in Springfield, Missouri, then became involved in the investigation.
During the last few weeks, charges have been filed on the following individuals in reference to this investigation:

Benton County:

Anthony J. Balbirnie

Murder 2nd Degree
Statutory Rape
Tampering with Physical Evidence
Child Molestation
Tampering with Physical Evidence

Amy L. Hartley

Murder 2nd Degree
Statutory Sodomy
Tampering with Physical Evidence
Maintaining a Public Nuisance


Dallas County:

Larry L. Warner

Murder 2nd Degree
Conspiracy to Commit Statutory Sodomy
Endangering the Welfare of a Child

Anthony J. Balbirnie

Possession of Methamphetamine
Tampering with Evidence

On August 10, 2008, Theresa Mohler was at the Anthony J. Balbirnie residence in Polk County, Missouri. While at this residence, Mohler was bound, held against her will, forcibly injected with narcotics, and raped over several days by Anthony Balbirnie. On August 15, 2008, Mohler escaped the residence on foot and obtained transportation to Springfield, Missouri, where she was taken to a hospital. While obtaining medical attention, it was determined that Mohler had obtained a serious infection from the forcible injection apparently provided to her from Balbirnie, which eventually led to her death. During the last few weeks, charges have been filed on the following individual in reference to this investigation:

Polk County:

Anthony J. Balbirnie

Murder 2nd Degree
1st Degree Assault
Forcible Rape

Anthony J. Balbirnie, 48, is currently incarcerated at the Missouri Department of Corrections at the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Missouri. Larry L. Warner, 40, is being held on a $500,000 bond in the Dallas County Jail, and Amy L. Hartley, 48, is incarcerated in the Benton County Jail on a $75,000 bond.
Investigators believe there may be individuals with further information in reference to these crimes. Any information the public might have regarding these investigations can be forwarded to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D Headquarters at (417) 895-6868. Investigators would also like to remind callers they can remain anonymous.
The above charges are mere accusation 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.

(###)