MCS-5
The Case of the Hatchet Murder
At 10:41 p.m. on June 13, 1987, Officers Robert Bonney and Scott Schnurbusch of the Jackson Police Department, acting upon an anonymous tip, found a human body buried in a shallow grave in a sink hole in the woods near the Old McKendree Chapel in Cape Girardeau County.
When the body was found, only a withered hand and the toe of a tennis shoe were sticking out of the ground. It was obvious from the hard condition of the earth that the body had not been buried during the past few days, but rather had been in the ground some time.
The Major Case Squad was activated.
With midnight approaching and the woods black with darkness, and with any leads obviously long cold, the Major Case Squad decided to wait until daylight to exhume the body. Deputy David Noah received the unenviable assignment of staying with the buried corpse throughout the long dark night in the woods, making sure no one returned to remove it. During the night the heavens emitted lightening and thunder, making a memorable night for the young deputy.
The next morning, shortly after sunrise, members of the Major Case Squad carefully removed the badly decomposed body from the ground. The rotting body was female, and clothed, but the face was decomposed beyond recognition. Nor was it possible to take fingerprints or footprints. The remains were carefully bagged and transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in St. Louis for autopsy.
Deputy Medical Examiner Michael Graham confirmed that the body was that of an adult female, who had been dead for approximately one month. She had multiple fractures to her skull, which had caused her death. Her teeth were intact. Should investigators develop leads as to her identity, she could be identified through dental records.
The Major Case Squad quickly determined that Donna C. Younts, 28, had been a missing person since the middle of May, a month earlier.
Her boyfriend, Gary D. Smith, 31, had also left the area about a month before, reportedly having gone to Oklahoma.
The dental records of Donna C. Younts were obtained from her childhood dentist in California by Federal Express. Dr. James McGivney, a forensic dentist, quickly confirmed that she was the victim.
The mother of Donna Younts still lived in California. She told investigators that Donna had come to Missouri with a truck driver named Gary D. Smith approximately two years earlier. The mother held a low opinion of Smith, and suspected that he beat her daughter.
Investigators also confirmed that Donna C. Younts had been alive on May 14, 1987, when she had cashed her payroll check at Ward’s Food Mart. The clerk at Ward’s specifically remembered cashing the check for her.
Upon questioning by officers, family members of Gary D. Smith admitted that he had told them in May that he had killed Donna. One family member added that Gary said he had killed Donna with a hatchet and that "Slowpoke" and others had helped bury the body near the Old McKendree Chapel. The relative added that shortly thereafter "Slowpoke" (identified as Clarence A. Mason) and "T. J." (John Ezra McCarter) tried to get the relative to get some lime to put on the body. "Slowpoke" told the relative that Smith had killed Donna, and had contacted "Slowpoke" later for help burying the body. "Slowpoke" admitted to the relative that he had helped bury the body. The relative reported that "Slowpoke" later punched him with a set of brass knuckles and threatened to kill him if he told anyone what had happened.
A witness was located who had driven Gary D. Smith and a dark-haired girl to the Old McKendree Chapel in May. He noticed that Smith was carrying a hatchet at the time.
Another witness recalled loaning a hatchet to Gary D. Smith in May. Smith had later returned it. The witness turned it over to the Major Case Squad. The hatchet was found to be identical in size to the marks left on the skull of the victim.
A witness who worked at a crematorium reported that Gary D. Smith had asked him the previous October whether he might use the crematorium to dispose of Donna’s body should he ever kill her. The witness told Smith absolutely not.
On June 15, 1987, Gary D. Smith was located in Bristow, Oklahoma. Deputies Lonnie R. Moore and John D. Jordan flew to Oklahoma to interview him. Smith eventually confessed to hitting Donna Younts repeatedly upon the head with the hatchet during an argument near the Old McKendree Chapel. He admitted that after he killed her, his friend "Slowpoke" helped him bury the body about 50 yards from where the killing had taken place.
Three people were charged with crimes relating to the murder of Donna C. Younts and the burial of her body. Ironically, the killer himself was the only one who pled guilty.
Gary D. Smith pled guilty to first degree murder and armed criminal action. Scott County Circuit Judge Anthony C. Heckemeier sentenced him to life in prison on each charge, to run consecutively.
Clarence A. Mason ("Slowpoke") went to jury trial for the offenses of tampering with physical evidence, tampering with a witness and misdemeanor assault of a witness (one of the relatives of Gary D. Smith). He was found guilty of the assault and sentenced to six months in the county jail, but was acquitted on the tampering charges. As a result of the misdemeanor conviction, however, his Illinois parole for aggravated battery and armed violence was revoked and he was eventually returned to prison in Illinois to serve the remainder of a 4-year sentence.
John Ezra McCarter went to jury trial for the offense of tampering with physical evidence for allegedly supplying the lime to help bury the body, but was acquitted. His probation for a felony forgery offense was revoked based upon his involvement in the matter. The 8-page written confession of Gary D. Smith, which had not been admissible at the McCarter’s jury trial as being hearsay, was admissible at his probation revocation hearing and supplied the proof of his involvement. He received a 3-year prison sentence for the forgery.
