The stabbing of a 13-year-old Iberia girl, allegedly by the brother of her step-father, left the town of Iberia and the Lake community in shock. The accused killer, Steven Henderson, reportedly admitted to the crime when questioned by authorities, but has since pleaded Not Guilty.
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ORIGINAL STORY – June 25, 2013
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IBERIA, Mo. — It is on the face of everyone in town. A small Missouri community is in a state of horror and sadness this week as details emerge about the murder of a 13-year-old girl in Iberia. Parents are holding their children close. A family and a community will never be the same.
Melissa Henderson, mother of murder victim Macala Shelton, returned home on emergency leave from a tour with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan to speak with investigators and bury her baby, allegedly killed at the hands of her husband's brother.
Steven Neal Henderson, 30, of Iberia, is alleged by the Missouri State Highway Patrol to have committed the crime of first-degree murder by stabbing Shelton with a long survival knife at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22, 2013. Unofficial sources say Steven Henderson attended his sister's wedding, serving as the best man, at 3:30 p.m. the same day, after the family was apparently aware of Shelton's disappearance.
Unofficial sources say Shelton's step-grandmother, believing the girl overslept, went to wake her Saturday morning, but did not find her in the bedroom or anywhere in the home on N. St. Louis Street.
The Highway Patrol issued an endangered person advisory to media at 6:51 p.m. at the request of Miller County Sheriff Bill Abbott.
Investigators named Steven Henderson a person of interest, interviewed him the evening after the wedding at the Miller County Sheriff's Office, and placed him on a 24-hour hold while evidence was being collected. During a press conference, Sheriff Abbott said Henderson informed police of the general direction in which Macala Shelton might be found. Police located her body at approximately 2 a.m., Sunday, June 23, in a wooded area near a small waterway, known as Ponder’s Slab, close to an unoccupied farm used for hunting outside Iberia.
"After an interview of the suspect a statement was made where he detailed how he stabbed her with a large survival knife," a lead investigator with the Highway Patrol has written in the probable cause statement. "The suspect further revealed where the knife was disposed of and where it would be located. A search warrant was applied for and the weapon was located at the residence."
Miller County Prosecutor Matt Howard charged Steven Henderson with first-degree murder and felony armed criminal action on Sunday, June 23.
Henderson is being held in the Miller County Jail with a bond set at $500,000. He appeared in court Monday, June 24, for an arraignment where he also applied for a public defender. He is scheduled to appear in court again at 9 a.m., Monday, July 8.
Jerry L. Henderson Jr., Steven Henderson's brother and Macala Shelton's step-father, was also arrested, but for gun charges unrelated to the death of his step-daughter. A detective with the Miller County Sheriff’s Department reports the following: “On June 23 while conducting a death investigation, investigators conducted a search at 102 North St. Louis Street in Iberia. During the search officers located multiple firearms including a large cache of ammunition in the bedroom belonging to Jerry Henderson. Several of the firearms were located in his bedroom. They were not locked up and were loaded and fully accessible. In excess of 20 firearms were found in his room including several hundred pounds of ammunition and hundreds of assault rifle magazines.”
The Missouri Department of Social Services has removed all children from the home on North St. Louis Street, where sources say some 15 people were living at the time of the murder, including Macala Shelton, Steven Henderson and Jerry Henderson Jr.
