Osborne pleads guilty to murder

Connecttristates.com

March 5, 2011

ROODHOUSE, ILL. (AP) -- A Missouri woman has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in an Illinois prison for the death of a Roodhouse woman.

Myra Osborne of Vandalia, Mo., entered the plea Friday and was sentenced in Greene County Circuit Court in the death of 72-year-old Carol Andrews of Roodhouse.

Osborne was accused of duct-taping Andrews' nose and mouth during a robbery in March 2008.

Andrews was found dead in her Roodhouse home and authorities say she died of asphyxiation.

Osborne had worked for Andrews at a Roodhouse convenience store.

Osborne had been held without bail at Carrollton's Greene County jail since she turned herself in and was arrested in March 2008.

Guilty plea in Roodhouse woman's murder

MyJournalCourier.com

March 05, 2011

CARROLLTON — A 52-year-old former co-worker pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of first-degree murder in last year’s slaying of a 72-year-old Roodhouse woman in the victim’s home.

Myra L. Osborne of Vandalia, Mo., entered her guilty plea in Greene County Circuit Court, where she was charged last March in the death of Carol J. Andrews.

Circuit Judge James Day immediately sentenced Osborne to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Greene County State’s Attorney Matthew J. Goetten said in a news release that Osborne will serve 100 percent of her sentence, which will be considered to have started on March 25 of last year, the date she was taken into custody.

“The plea is the culmination of nearly a year of work by various law enforcement agencies, including the Illinois State Police, Greene County Sheriff’s Department and the Roodhouse Police Department,” Goetten said in the release. “The Illinois State Police Crime Lab in Springfield provided invaluable forensic support.”

The plea brought an end to a case that began last March 19, when Andrews was found dead in her Roodhouse home. Authorities said Andrews died of asphyxiation because her nose and mouth had been duct-taped.

Osborne turned herself in to Morgan County authorities last March 25 after an arrest warrant was issued accusing her of using Andrews’ debit/ATM card at a Roodhouse business on March 18.

Neighbors went to Andrews’ home about 10 p.m. March 19 to check on her at the request of a family member who lives in another state, and they found her body.

“Cooperation from individuals and businesses in Roodhouse and the surrounding communities was vital in assisting my office in obtaining a warrant and, ultimately, a conviction in this case,” Goetten said.

Osborne’s husband, Ricky J. Osborne, 48, also turned himself in at the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department in Jacksonville, but all charges against him later were dropped.

Along with three counts of first-degree murder, Osborne initially faced charges of residential burglary, unlawful use of a credit card and receiving the debit card of another. It remained unclear Friday whether those other charges against her had been dropped in exchange for her guilty plea.

Osborne once worked for Andrews when Andrews managed a convenience store in Roodhouse. Osborne lived in Roodhouse until about a year before the killing.

Since her arrest, Osborne had been held without bail at the Greene County Jail in Carrollton.

“While I have to credit the Illinois State Police for providing the technical expertise and manpower for the majority of the evidence collected, without the efforts of Roodhouse Police Chief Steve Speeks and Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Cale Hoesman, the evidence in this case would have been far less compelling,” Goetten said.

“Unfortunately, there is no disposition available to adequately compensate the family and the community for the loss of Carol,” he said. “However, in light of evidentiary issues and available sentencing options, (Friday’s) plea is a positive outcome for Carol’s family, Roodhouse and Greene County.”

Myra Osborne
(Illinois Department of Corrections)