Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis

Man charged in Lincoln County woman's death

BY SHANE ANTHONY • santhony@post-dispatch.com

• UPDATED 3:30 p.m. with murder charge.

LINCOLN COUNTY • A Lincoln County man has been charged with killing the mother of his girlfriend.

William Galvin, 50, of the first block of Sweet Street west of Winfield, faces a second-degree murder charge, Lincoln County authorities said. He had been staying with his girlfriend's mother, Bonnie Lee Brown, 77, and was caring for Brown while the girlfriend was in jail, family members said.

Prosecutor Leah Askey said Galvin was being held in lieu of $250,000 cash-only bail.

Galvin also has been charged with financial exploitation of the elderly after he attempted to get control over Brown's bank account the day her lifeless body was found.

Court documents on that charge say Galvin went to People's Bank and Trust of Winfield Monday morning and tried to get an employee to change the designated signatory on Brown's account to his name so he would have sole access to the money.

The employee told him he couldn't do that without Brown's signature, according to the documents. He then told the employee Brown had died of an overdose sometime over the weekend. The employee told him he would have to go to court to change the account.

Galvin then went to a different teller and cashed a $50 check made out to cash from his own account. He also told that teller that Brown had died.

Later that morning, Galvin called 911 to report finding Brown's body in the trailer where they lived on Sweet Street off of Highway 47. He suggested there had been a robbery, authorities said. Some signs of forced entry were found.

Investigators said Galvin told them Brown was alive before he went to the bank.

Megan Clark, 28, said Tuesday that her mother and her mother's boyfriend had been living with Brown, but her mother has been in jail in St. Charles County since last month in a bad check case. A stroke had limited her grandmother's movement.

Clark and her boyfriend, Mark Hilding, 49, travel across the country as long-haul truckers. She said they kept in touch with Brown regularly, and she called her from the road Sunday night.

Clark said Tuesday that Brown never backed down from speaking her mind, but was polite.

"She liked keeping things calm," Clark said. "She was a happy person."

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Police say woman found dead in Lincoln County was strangled

BY SHANE ANTHONY • santhony@post-dispatch.com

LINCOLN COUNTY • Preliminary autopsy results showed a 77-year-old Lincoln County woman was strangled, police said Tuesday, but they released few other details.

The Major Case Squad continued its investigation into the death of Bonnie Lee Brown, whose body was discovered Monday morning on Sweet Street off of Highway 47.

Family members wondered what the motive might have been, but they said police were questioning the boyfriend of one of Brown's daughters.

Megan Clark, 28, said she did not know who discovered her grandmother's body. Her mother and her mother's boyfriend had been living with Brown, she said, but her mother has been in jail in St. Charles County since last month for passing a bad check. She said police considered her mother's boyfriend a person of interest in the case.

Police would not comment beyond giving the suspected cause of death and Brown's name and age.

About 11 a.m., investigators brought Brown's daughter to the trailer where the body was found and took her inside.

Clark and her boyfriend, Mark Hilding, 49, travel across the country as over-the-road truckers. She said they kept in touch with Brown regularly, and she called her from the road Sunday night.

Hilding referred to Brown as "Grandma Bonnie." He said she used to enjoy dancing, but a stroke had limited her movement. He said he used to jokingly ask her if she were "cutting a rug."

Clark said Brown never backed down from speaking her mind, but was polite.

"She liked keeping things calm," Clark said. "She was a happy person."

A neighbor, Rick Dickerson, 60, said he did not know Brown well, but she was friendly. He questioned why anyone would kill a 77-year-old woman. "That's just sad," he said. "Truly sad."

Copyright 2011 STLtoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Authorities ID Lincoln County woman found dead in home

BY SHANE ANTHONY • santhony@post-dispatch.com

UPDATED 2:57 p.m. with interview with granddaughter.

LINCOLN COUNTY •  A 77-year-old woman found dead in her home near Winfield Monday appeared to have been strangled, investigators said.

Lt. Bill Sutton of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said an autopsy on Bonnie Lee Brown this morning indicated the cause of death. Police are releasing few other details. The Major Case Squad continues to investigate.

Family members say Brown lived with her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend in a brown trailer on Sweet Street off Highway 47. They say the boyfriend has been detained by investigators. Police would not comment.

About 11 a.m., investigators with the Major Case Squad brought a woman wearing orange prisoner clothes to the trailer where the body was found. They took the woman inside.

Megan Clark, 28, Brown's granddaughter said the woman was her mother, who has been in St. Charles County Jail since sometime last month for passing a bad check. Clark said investigators did not tell her why they brought her mother to the crime scene.

Clark said her mother's boyfriend had been taking care of her grandmother while her mother was in jail.

Brown moved to the trailer about a year ago from Springfield, Mo., Clark said. She said her grandmother was a strong woman who wasn't shy about speaking her mind. She had difficulty moving and seeing because of a stroke, she said, and she loved ice cream with chocolate sauce and bananas.

"She liked keeping things calm," Clark said. "She was a happy person.'

Clark said she last spoke with her grandmother Sunday night. Brown seemed happy then, she said.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department was called to Brown's home about 10:20 a.m. Monday. Sutton would not say when they believe Brown was killed. Clark said she wasn't sure who found the body "I don't know who did it," she said.

Rick Dickerson, 60, a neighbor, said he did not know Brown well, but she seemed kind.

He said he wasn't sure why anyone would want to kill Brown, but he hoped police caught the person quickly. "It's just sad," Dickerson said. "It's that bad that you gotta kill a 77-year-old woman?"

Copyright 2011 STLtoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Lincoln County woman found dead

BY PATRICK M. O'CONNELL • poconnell@post-dispatch.com

LINCOLN COUNTY • The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis is investigating the death of a 77-year-old woman who was found dead Monday morning.

Her death is being treated as a possible homicide.

The Lincoln County sheriff's office was called about 10:20 a.m. to Sweet Street, off Highway 47 west of Winfield, where they discovered the dead woman.

Investigators said they are gathering evidence and following leads.

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