A Fulton woman pleaded guilty Monday to helping kill her boyfriend's mother and brother-in-law.
During her pre-trial hearing, Jennifer Ann Grayson pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each count, to be served concurrently, and given credit for time served, according to Missouri Casenet.
Grayson had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the April 2016 deaths of Dale Horton's relatives at a home in Callaway County. Her trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Horton pleaded guilty in August to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his mother, Sherry Horton, and his brother-in-law, Joshua Griffith. He was sentenced to two concurrent terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On April 27, 2016, Horton, then 35, and his girlfriend, Grayson, then 27, were charged with the murders of Sherry Horton (Horton's mother) and Joshua Griffith, his brother-in-law. These were the first homicides reported in Callaway County in two years, law enforcement officials said at the time.
The couple was arrested at the Welcome Inn in Columbia about 9:30 p.m. April 26, the night of the incident, and returned to Callaway County. Officers also found a 9mm handgun at the motel, which Horton later said was used to commit the murders.
An interview by Callaway sheriff's department officers was reported in the probable cause statement. In that interview Horton admitted he and Grayson went to a residence shared by the victims in western Callaway County. Horton told the interviewers he first wounded his mother, then killed Griffith. He then returned to Sherry Horton and killed her.
Officers said they received a report of a possible shooting at 2639 County Road 324 about 5:30 p.m. April 26. When deputies responded, they found Sherry Horton and Griffith dead.
According to the probable cause statement, Horton said during the interview Grayson was inside the residence with him, and she verbally berated Sherry Horton before her death. He also admitted stealing jewelry and the truck.