Obituary - Elda Bauer

91-year-old Elda Bauer of  Appleton City Missouri  passed away Friday, November 8. The Funeral Arrangements are under direction of Hill and Son Funeral Home, Appleton City and will be announced when they become available.

Obituary - Thomas Earl Smith

90-year-old Thomas Earl Smith, Raytown and formerly Butler, passed away Wednesday, November 6. Arrangements are under direction of the Floral Hills Funeral Home and services are scheduled at 12:00 p.m. at the funeral home in Kansas City. The family receives friends between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Monday at the funeral home and memorials to One Spirit United Methodist Church or the Shriners' Transportation Fund are suggested.

Obituary - Fannie P. Edmondson

The SERVICE for Mrs. Edmondson will be held at Hill and Son Funeral Home in Appleton City, Missouri on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

OFFICIANTS for the service are her two sons, Glen and Arnold Edmondson.

VISITATION will be held at the funeral home Monday, November 11, 2013 between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.

INTERMENT will be in the Appleton City Cemetery.
The family suggests MEMORIAL donations be made to The American Cancer Society.
Fannie Pearl (Carney) Edmondson, age 81, of Butler, Missouri, went home to be with Jesus on November 8, 2013. Fannie Pearl entered this earthly life on July 26, 1932 in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. Her parents were Richard and Ella (Crenshaw) Carney.

Fannie was united in marriage to Paul Edmondson on December 5, 1947 and was married 65 years until his passing on October 9, 2013. They were blessed with seven children.

Fannie was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Fannie loved spending time with family and friends and never met a stranger.

Preceding Fannie Pearl in death were her husband, Paul; parents, Richard and Ella Carney; brother, Edward Carney; two grandsons, Scott Adams and Nathan Eli Edmondson and one son-in-law, Windell Cannon.

Left to mourn Fannie Pearl’s passing are her children: Glen Edmondson (Linda), Brenda Cannon, Paul E. Edmondson (Nancy); Elaine Vielhauer (Robert), DeWayne Edmondson (Yvonne), Maurice O’Banion (Tim), Arnold Edmondson (Donnine); brother, Owens Carney; 23 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandson, many nieces, nephews and friends

UPDATE - Child Hit By Car In Butler

Bates County Ambulance has already secured the boy and he is being taken to the hospital for further observation. It is still unknown the extent of the injuries. The boy was said to be riding his a bike when the accident happened. Bates County Live will update this as soon as any more information becomes available.

Child Hit By Car In Butler

Butler Police Department and Bates County Ambulance  is in route to a report of a car hitting a child at the intersection of Maple Streets and Clark Street. It is unknown at this time whether there are any injuries. Bates County Live will keep you updated on this as soon as any more information becomes available.

Two Vehicle Accident In Butler

Bates County Ambulance, Butler Fire Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Butler Police Department are on scene of  a two vehicle accident at the West 52 and I-49 intersections west of Butler. One lane of the highway is blocked. It is unknown if there are any injuries but they are reporting that the airbags did deploy. Please use caution if traveling in the area and expect delays. Use an alternate route if at all possible. Bates County Live will keep you updated if and when any more information becomes available. 

COUNTRY DANCE AT THE SENIOR CENTER

The Butler Senior Center will be hosting a Country Dance Thursday November 21 starting at 7pm. so put on your dancing shoes. There is a cover charge of $5.00 and your asked to bring a dish and prepare to come for a good time. For further information you can contact the Senior Center at (660) 679-5830.

SECOND SUSPECT IN DEATH OF BENTON TEENAGER IS ARRESTED

 

AMY LEIGH HARTLEY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANTHONY BALBIRNIE

 

 

KHIGHLA PARKS

Amy Leigh Hartley, 37, Buffalo, is now the second suspect in the death of Khighla Parks, 15. She is charged with allegedly committing statutory sodomy, first degree child endangerment, keeping or maintaining a public nuisance, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and abandonment of a corpse.

Hartley purportedly washed bedding to impair an investigation into the death. Hartley is alleged to endangered the welfare of a child through allowing the teenager into her residence at 810 Locust St., Buffalo, where methamphetamine was made and used “to engage in sex with multiple partners, some of whom were known by the defendant to engage in asphyxiation sex.” Hartley is believed to have had illegal sex with the teenager in addition to moving and helping dispose of the body, according to documents filed with the Benton County Circuit Court.

Another suspect, Anthony Balbirnie, 47, Buffalo, is facing a series of allegations and charges from a special prosecutor from the Office of the Missouri Attorney General. Balbirnie had been charged with alleged abandonment of a corpse, resisting arrest, burglary, robbery and armed criminal action. Some of the charges were in connection with an incident in Springfield. He had been charged in both Benton County and Greene County. The charge of abandonment of a corpse was from Benton County.

Balbirnie has now been charged by the special prosecutor with second degree murder, statutory rape, child molestation, endangering the welfare of a child, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse, according to documents filed with the Benton County Circuit Court.

Balbirnie is currently incarcerated in the state prison in Bowling Green in eastern Missouri. He was returned to prison on a parole violation in the fall of 2012 for past convictions. He had been released from prison on parole in August, 2012. This was around a month before Khighla Parks disappeared.

Law enforcement officers arrested Balbirnie in October, 2012, following a pursuit on Highway 65 between Buffalo and Fair Grove. He was charged with purported abandonment of a corpse in connection with the body of Willard teenager Khighla Parks being found weighted in the waters of Truman Lake near the Mile Long Bridge a short distance from Warsaw.

Khighla was last seen by her family on Sept. 20, 2012, near the family residence in the Willard area. She was walking in the vicinity of Rt. EE and Rt. AB. Her body was found in Truman Lake some 10 days after she was last seen. A witness is said to have reportedly witnessed Balbirnie binding, wrapping and preparing the body for transportation and then placing the body in the trunk of a vehicle.

Investigators believe Khighla was in the Buffalo area before her death and certain activity in the Buffalo region may have led to her death. The Office of the Missouri Attorney General alleges Balbirnie took Khighla from Greene County to Buffalo for the purpose of engaging in asphyxiation sex with the child. Further, that Balbirnie inflicted serious physical injury on Khighla. The 15-year-old girl died from her air being cut off, it is alleged.

Balbirnie has an extensive criminal history which includes resisting arrest, unlawful use of a weapon, forgery and several drug-related charges. There are safety concerns regarding certain witnesses and co-defendants. As a result, some documents in the latest filing and the case itself had been sealed by a judge.