Police are now searching for her “extremely dangerous” ex-boyfriend, who is suspected of allegedly trapping and killing her, The Independent reports.
Officers say that James B. Horn Jr., 47, a convicted sex offender, has been at large since being charged with kidnapping, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Thursday, police discovered a vehicle belonging to Sutton parked at a Sedalia hospital close to the home where he had allegedly kept Sutton captive.
Sutton told officers Horn routinely locked her in a box at their home in Sedalia, over a period of four months. He would force her into the box if he was getting ready to leave home by threatening her with a long knife. He would release her when he came home, and force her to have sex with him, authorities said.
The box only measured 100 inches (2.5 meters) long, 45 inches (1.1 meter) wide and 52 inches (1.3 meters) tall, police documents reported, per the Independent.
Responding to a call, authorities went to a house in Clinton on Thursday, where they found two victims shot to death, and they were identified as Sutton, and her son Zachary Sutton, 17, CNN reports.
The mother and son were staying with her relatives after she fled from her alleged captor, who held her hostage from January to April 30, police say.
The bodies were discovered around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday. Sutton’s body was in the bedroom. Her son was found on the stairs.
“They were discovered by family members who were working on the overnight shift,” said Lt. Sonny Lynch, of the Clinton Police Department, per CNN. “They had been away working when this happened.”
In the wake of the murders, questions are being asked as to why Sutton didn’t have police protection while the man who allegedly kept her in the box was on the run.
Sutton and her son moved in with her brother, and local authorities didn’t know she had moved to Clinton, Lynch said.
“We did not know she was living in our community,” he said. “We’re still investigating those details. We were not notified that she was in our community.”
CNN reports that advocacy groups had urged Sutton to seek protection from police, but she told them she felt safe, Lynch said.
Horn knew her relatives and also knew where they lived and what shifts they worked, Lynch said.
Police have searched homes linked to the suspect, including the house in Sedalia where Sutton was allegedly kept in a box. They have, in fact, been searching for Horn since Sutton escaped at 6 p.m., on April 30, and ran to a neighbor’s house. The neighbor helped her notify authorities, KSHB reported.
Police say that she was “hysterical” when she called but had calmed down by the time they arrived. She told them that the suspect had kept her in a wooden box inside a house they shared. When police arrived at the house, they found a box that matched Sutton’s description.
Police say they believe Horn stole the car located at the home in Clinton after the murders.
Horn has had several run-ins with the law, and crimes he committed in the past are being taken into account during the manhunt.
Another affiliate reports that Horn’s ex-wife was advised by police after the murders to move to a safe location. It’s alleged that Horn threatened his ex-wife’s life 20 years ago and federal agents helped her to stay safe, KSHB reports.
Horn spent more than a decade in prison for kidnapping and raping his wife, and he has also spent an additional three years in prison for kidnapping and raping a second woman he had dated for five months.
After the decade spent in prison for crimes against his ex-wife, federal prosecutors obtained a “Certificate of Dangerousness” under the Adam Walsh Law. By doing this, Horn was kept in prison an additional four years.
Horn fought the special designation in 2011, and despite testimony from two psychologists, the judge wrote that they had not convinced the court that Horn had a personality disorder or posed a high-risk of re-offending. He left prison in December 2011.
Because of the seriousness of his crimes, he was supposed to be under supervised release by law enforcement and he was required to register as a sex offender, KSBH reports.
Police cordoned off the Sedalia home where they thought he might be hiding, and also checked out two unoccupied homes nearby. They surrounded the home for several hours, calling for Horn to come out, and they finally deployed a robot to search the area, but officers did not find anyone once they went inside, said Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Fox News reports.
Horn is “absolutely” a suspect in the deaths, Lynch said. He warned that Horn was an “extremely dangerous, violent person,” and that anyone providing him shelter may face charges if they were aware of the pending kidnapping charges.
A search for him has now been expanded to nationwide.