A former correctional officer is accused of killing his wife in front of their seven children and forcing some of them to participate, Missouri authorities said.
Jonathan G. Houston, 44, was arrested after one of his children called 911 from a Missouri hotel. The child reportedly whispered to dispatchers that Houston had kidnapped the siblings and subjected them to ongoing abuse, according to charging documents obtained by KOMU.
Officers responding Sunday to the Baymont Inn & Suites in Kingdom City found the children there. One child told investigators that Houston had strangled their mother in front of them about 10 months earlier, police said in court documents.
According to the charging documents, Houston allegedly held his wife by the throat while ordering one child to pour hot water over her legs and another to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
The three youngest children were allegedly locked in a bathroom while Houston played loud music to keep them from hearing their mother being killed, court records state.
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Houston allegedly placed his wife’s body in a trash bag and discarded it in a dumpster on the hotel property. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was never reported missing, authorities said.
Investigators say Houston confessed to killing his wife and acknowledged that he had planned the crime in advance, according to the charging documents. Police are also investigating him in connection with an earlier sexual assault and assaults involving other alleged victims.
Authorities did not immediately release additional information.
“At this point we’re 48 hours afterwards on a crime that we’re already 10 months behind on,” Curtis Hall, chief deputy of the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office, told KOMU. “We have to be mindful of what we can release and what we should release.”
Houston faces charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping. He is being held without bond.
The children have been placed in protective custody, police said.
