(Hartville) – A man accused of killing a 4-year-old boy has pleaded guilty, according to authorities in Wright County.
Wright County Sheriff Glenn Adler reported to Ozark Radio News earlier this week that 22-year-old Terry Joe (TJ) Volner pleaded guilty on September 28 to charges of First Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action concerning the death of 4-year-old Dusty Guenther in early December 2011.
Court documents state that Volner killed Guenther by slitting his throat and then dumped the body in a ditch. Volner then sent pictures of the body to his mother, and said he had also killed the boy’s mother and his siblings. Guenther’s mother and sisters were unharmed. Volner was found by authorities at the Guenther home with self-inflicted stab wounds and was incarcerated on $1 million bond.