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
D42013
March 14, 2013

EMPHASIS: Charge Filed For The 2003 Homicide Of Rebecca Sutton


The Missouri State Highway Patrol announces that a charge has been filed against Phillip L. Dodd for the 2003 homicide of Rebecca R. Sutton.

On March 21, 2003, at approximately 3:00 p.m., officers with the Hollister Police Department responded to the reported disappearance of Rebecca R. Sutton, 19, from her apartment, located at 140 2nd Street #O in Hollister, Missouri. Upon arrival, officers discovered that she was missing and her toddler son was home alone. Nearly a year later, in February 2004, Sutton's remains were found near Bradleyville, Missouri, in the Mark Twain National Forrest. Autopsy results classified Sutton's death an apparent homicide, pending investigation. The crime was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Hollister Police Department, and the Taney County Sheriff's Department. Approximately ten years later, a continuation of the cold case homicide investigation, conducted by members of the Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control, resulted in new information leading to the current charge.

On Thursday, March 14, 2013, a charge of murder in the first degree was filed against Phillip L. Dodd, 40, for the death of Rebecca R. Sutton. Dodd is currently incarcerated on an unrelated charge at the Missouri Department of Corrections in Jefferson City.

The above charge is mere accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charge must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.


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