Confession by Missouri kidnap suspect?

UNION, Mo. - A pizzeria manager pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of kidnapping a 13-year-old boy who was found four days later in the man’s apartment with another boy who had been missing for more than four years.

But moments later the chief prosecutor in the case said Michael Devlin, 41, had actually confessed to kidnapping Ben Ownby.

"Basically, when Mr. Devlin was taken into custody he did confess that he had kidnapped Ben Ownby," Franklin County prosecutor Robert Parks told reporters after the arraignment.

He did not elaborate and Devlin's attorneys refused to comment.

Devlin is charged with abducting Ben after the boy stepped off a school bus earlier this month.

Devlin, also a part-time funeral home employee, remained in the Franklin County Jail during the arraignment, appearing through a video hookup. He is jailed on $1 million bond.

Devlin’s defense attorneys told reporters they wanted the case moved from Franklin County.

“There’s no way we can get a fair trial in this county with the amount of attention it’s gotten,” defense attorney Michael Kielty said.

Found in Devlin's apartment
On Wednesday, Devlin was also charged with kidnapping 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, who had been missing since October 2002.

Both boys were found at Devlin’s apartment in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood.

“Shawn was abducted against his will,” Washington County, Mo., prosecutor John Rupp said. “Period. End of story.”

Sheriff Kevin Schroeder would not say whether Shawn was held captive at the apartment for the entire time.

Shawn’s parents told Oprah Winfrey in a show airing Thursday that their son hasn’t told them directly but they believe he was sexually abused during the more than four years he was missing.

“OK, I’m going to go there and ask you, what do you think happened? Do you think he was sexually abused?” Winfrey asked Craig and Pam Akers.

Both nodded and said, “Yes.”

1991 disappearance
Devlin also is under investigation in the 1991 disappearance of another Missouri boy who still has not been found, The Associated Press has learned.

NBC VIDEO Defense wants case moved Jan. 18: "There's no way we can get a fair trial in this county," defense attorney Michael Kielty said. MSNBC

Devlin is the “most viable lead” in the case of Charles Arlin Henderson, who was 11 when he disappeared in 1991 and has never been found, Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies said.

Rupp said in a statement that Devlin was charged with kidnapping and armed criminal action. The statement does not name Shawn, but uses the initials SDH.

While it is MSNBC.com’s and The Associated Press’ policy not to identify alleged victims of sexual abuse in most cases, Shawn’s case has been widely publicized and his name is well-known. Also, the family has gone public, conducting several national interviews.

A probable cause statement released by Rupp said Devlin “abducted SDH utilizing force for the purpose of terrorizing the victim. After securing SDH, Michael Devlin flourished a handgun in order to gain compliance of the minor child. Michael Devlin then transported him out of the county and concealed his whereabouts for four years and three months.”

Rupp and Schroeder would not discuss evidence in the case beyond the probable cause statement.

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