Sharon Kinne
Real Name: Sharon Elizabeth Kinne
Aliases: La Pistolera
Wanted For: Murder, Escape
Missing Since: December 7, 1969
Case
Details: On March 19, 1960, twenty-year-old Sharon Kinne called the police in Independence, Missouri to report the death of her twenty-five-year-old husband, James. He was found shot to death on his bed with a .22 caliber target pistol next to him. When interviewed by the police the next day, Sharon claimed that he was cleaning his gun in the bedroom when he decided to take a nap. Their two-year-old daughter came in and started playing with the gun when it went off and shot him in the head. Investigator James Browning was suspicious of the story; however, with no other witnesses and little physical evidence, there was little else that could be done. The insurance company believed that James' death was an accident, so Sharon collected $29,000 (now over $150,000) in life insurance. She did not act the role of a grieving wife; she purchased a flashy sports car with James' insurance and took up with the salesman she bought the car from, Walter Jones.
Sharon wanted Walter to leave his wife and children. She eventually claimed she was pregnant, but he would not marry her as he was already married. So she decided that she would permanently separate them. In May 1960, she called his wife, Patricia, and claimed that he was having an affair with her "sister". She agreed to meet with Sharon, but she asked a friend to come with her. When they met, Sharon asked if they could go somewhere alone. Patricia reluctantly agreed and was never seen again.
The next day, a search began for Patricia. Sharon volunteered to help look for her. She enlisted the help of another lover, John Boldizs. Later that night, they went to a popular lover's lane. While there, Sharon "noticed" Patricia's body laying in a nearby field. John said that they had to go to the police, but she told him to drop her off first and not tell them that she was with him. He, however, did so and the investigators became very suspicious.
Prosecutors charged Sharon with the murders of James and Patricia. Patricia's case was tried first because the evidence in it was considered the strongest. However, the murder weapon, another .22 caliber target pistol, had not been located. Sharon's celebrity status seemed to charm the all-male jury. After ten days, they deliberated for only an hour and a half before returning a "not guilty" verdict. Shockingly, after it was read, the courtroom erupted in cheers; jurors and spectators flocked to Sharon, asking for her autograph.
Sharon's glory was short-lived. Immediately after Patricia's trial, she was put on trial for James' murder. In that case, she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The star witness for the prosecution was John Boldizs, who testified that she had once offered him $1,000 to kill James. In March 1963, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned her conviction on a legal technicality. She was released on a $25,000 bond, pending retrial.
Almost immediately, Sharon had a new lover. They decided to go to Mexico on vacation. She wrote a series of bad checks and vanished for there in September 1964. While there, she shot and killed another lover, Francisco Ordonoz, before getting turned over to the Mexican police. Despite her plea of self-defense, she was convicted of Francisco's murder. The gun used in Patricia's was recovered in Mexico, and Sharon received an extra thirteen years to her sentence after trying to appeal her conviction.
Sharon Kinne Age Progression
Complaining constantly about the state of the Ixtapalapa Women's Prison, Sharon somehow escaped on December 7, 1969, by squeezing through an unguarded window. Her whereabouts are unknown. She may have stayed in Mexico, or she may have gone to Alaska, where she has relatives. Some rumors that she never turned up again is that she's actually dead, but this has yet to be confirmed. She is 5'7" and 125 pounds with gray eyes, blond hair, and would now be seventy-seven-years-old. Her birth date is November 30, 1939.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the May 29, 1998 episode. It was also profiled on Deadly Women and A Crime to Remember.
Interestingly, one of Sharon's attorneys, Alex Peebles, had another client that was featured on the show, accused murderer Mike Cline.
Results: Wanted
Links:
- Sharon Kinne on Unsolved.com
- Sharon Kinne on Wikipedia
- Sharon Kinne on Murderpedia
- Benton Graduate Found Murdered Near Kansas City
- Kansas City Woman Freed in Slaying
- Mrs. Kinne Charged in Mexico City Shooting
- Murderess of the Year?
- Sharon Kinne wanted by police 50 years after her killing spree began
- Killer's Story on ID's A Crime To Remember