Confession by Missouri kidnap suspect?
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Prosecutor: He confessed Jan. 18: Michael Devlin confessed to kidnapping Ben Ownby, prosecutor Robert Parks tells reporters. MSNBC |
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Innocent man freed after 35 years in prison Dec. 18: An innocent Florida man walks free today after serving 35 years for a rape he didn't commit. NBC's Jennifer Leigh reports. |
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'Give Shawn some time'
Schroeder called Shawn “very strong” and “very articulate,” but said investigators are being careful not to push him too hard because of his age.
“Give Shawn some time and proceed through this thing slowly,” Schroeder said. “He’s been away from his family four-and-a-half years. We’ve got to give him some time to rejoin that family unit.
“This is something so bizarre that the normal individual cannot grasp what this then-11-year-old boy went through.”
'Striking resemblance'
Charles Arlin Henderson, known as Arlin, was, like the other two boys, about 100 pounds and from a rural town about an hour from St. Louis.
“If you were to take a photo of Arlin Henderson and you place it next to Shawn’s picture, there is a striking resemblance,” Lincoln County sheriff’s Lt. Rick Harrell said.
Investigators began re-examining the 1991 case after Devlin’s arrest. Detective Chris Bartlett said a witness saw a man snapping photos of Arlin before the Moscow Mills boy vanished.
Arlin’s uncle, James McWilliams, said the boy came home from school a few months before he disappeared and told his mother a “tall, thin man” had been taking pictures of him.
Asked whether the man’s description fit that of Devlin, who stands about 6-foot-4 and weighs around 300 pounds, Bartlett said: “It matched the description enough that we have to pursue him as the most viable lead.”
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www.missingkids.com Charles Arlin Henderson, seen at age 11 when he disappeared on left, is shown age-progressed to 22 years. |
Lincoln County deputies have sent their leads to the Franklin County task force that spearheaded the hunt for Ben.
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said his office and the FBI were investigating whether Devlin might have been involved in other abductions. FBI spokesman Pete Krusing would not discuss whether the agency was investigating a link between Devlin and the 1991 case.
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