A Man is Charged With the 2003 Murder of Rebecca Sutton
By: Dave Smith KSN / Laurie Patton KOLR 10 News
Updated: March 15, 2013
TANEY COUNTY, MO--- Phillip Dodd, 40, is charged with the First Degree Murder for the death of Rebecca Sutton. In March 2003, the 19-year-old mother of one, was reported missing. A year later, her remains were found near Bradleyville, MO., in the Mark Twain National Forrest.
After about 10 years, a continuation of the cold case homicide by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control resulted in new information. Dodd is currently being held for a 14-year Second Degree Robbery sentence at the Missouri Department of Corrections in Jefferson City. Taney County Prosecuting Attorney, Jeffrey Merrell says Dodd confessed murdering Sutton.
According to court documents, Dodd was a person of interest from the beginning of the investigation.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Investigator Dan Nash talked to Dodd on March 4 and 8, 2013. During the March 8 interview, Dodd told Nash he had not been completely honest in previous interviews. Dodd said he went to Sutton's apartment to use drugs and "attempt to obtain sex."
After about 10 years, a continuation of the cold case homicide by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control resulted in new information. Dodd is currently being held for a 14-year Second Degree Robbery sentence at the Missouri Department of Corrections in Jefferson City. Taney County Prosecuting Attorney, Jeffrey Merrell says Dodd confessed murdering Sutton.
According to court documents, Dodd was a person of interest from the beginning of the investigation.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Investigator Dan Nash talked to Dodd on March 4 and 8, 2013. During the March 8 interview, Dodd told Nash he had not been completely honest in previous interviews. Dodd said he went to Sutton's apartment to use drugs and "attempt to obtain sex."
The court documents also say Dodd admitted being present when Sutton died, wrapping up her body in bed sheets, and transporting her body to a wilderness area and putting under a rock outcropping.
A news conference was held Thursday afternoon at the Taney County Judicial Building in Forsyth. Investigators were tight-lipped about what brought them back to Dodd after nearly a decade, but his admission means the Sutton family may soon see justice.
