A former Missouri probation and parole officer who later worked at a state correctional center allegedly killed his wife in front of some of his children, even making some of the youngsters help him abuse their mother.
Jonathan G. Houston, 44, was arrested after one of his children called 911 from a hotel and discreetly whispered to dispatchers that her father had “captured” her and her six siblings and had physically abused them for years, according to charging documents, KOMU reported.
Deputies responded to the report and found the children on Sunday at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Kingdom City.
One of the children told the deputies that their father had strangled their mother while some of the children were present 10 months earlier, according to the documents. Another child, who also recalled witnessing the strangulation, said her father told her he planned to kill her mother, who was later identified by deputies as 37-year-old Aunika C. Houston.
During that attack, Houston was allegedly gripping his wife by the throat when he forced one child to pour hot water down the woman’s legs and another child to cover her mouth to muffle her screams, the documents show.
Houston had locked his three youngest children in the bathroom and instructed the children in the room to play loud music, so others could not hear their mother’s screams, according to court records, KOMU reported.
The man allegedly put his wife’s body in a trash bag and threw it into a dumpster on the hotel’s property.
The woman was never reported missing after the killing.
“Aunika Houston was originally from the State of California and is believed to have been residing in the Central Missouri area for the past several years. Her next of kin has been notified,” the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Houston allegedly admitted to investigators that he killed his wife and had planned the killing in advance, according to the charging documents.
“There is no danger to the community. This seems to be an act of domestic violence and it’s very unfortunate for everybody involved,” Chief Deputy of the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office Curtis Hall told KOMU.
“At this point we’re 48 hours afterwards on a crime that we’re already 10 months behind on,” Hall said. “We have to be mindful of what we can release and what we should release.”
Houston was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. He is being held without bond.
His children were taken into protective custody, deputies said.
He is also being investigated in connection with an alleged sexual assault and assaults involving other victims, according to deputies.
