Devlin plead guilty to kidnapping Ben Ownby and plans to plead guilty later in the week for kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck
By Kermit Miller
Monday, October 08, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.
Read more: Local, State, Crime
A Franklin County judge sentences Michael Devlin to life in prison for kidnapping 13-year-old Ben Ownby.
Devlin Monday morning made the first of several court appearances scheduled for this week.
He plead guilty to kidnapping Ownby at gunpoint on a country road near the boy's home and taking him to an apartment in suburban St. Louis.
Michael Devlin arrived at the courthouse clean shaven and looking substantially thinner than he did on that rainy night last January when he was arrested. His attorneys Monday described him as a man at peace with his decision to plead guilty to all charges.
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said, "There was a lot of evidence. Had it gone to trial, it would have been a very lengthy trial because of that."
Devlin's attorney Michael Kielty said, "We were ready, willing, and able to try the case. But we believed that, be in one trial or four separate trials, we could not in any way, shape, or form beaten this deal."
It's not completely clear what that deal entails. Devlin will receive multiple life terms for kidnapping Ben Ownby last winter and Shawn Hornbeck five years ago.
Hornbeck family attorney Scott Sherman said, "We've always entrusted that they were going to do what was best for Shawn and Ben. And if they feel that these terms are acceptable, then we're comfortable with that."
The defense lawyers say they were ready to plead months ago. It was the prosecutor who did not want to move quickly.
Franklin County Prosecutor Bob Parks said, "We wanted to make sure that everything was done right so that it's not going to come back on an appeal."
Ben Ownby's parents say their son is not focused on the prosecution of Devlin.
Don Ownby, Ben's Father, said, "He's in a normal routine for a 13-year-old boy in the eighth grade."
They are grateful neither their son nor Shaun Hornbeck will have to testify in open court. Others in the community are still bitter.
John Nicholas, a Franklin County resident said, "I think they need to take the man out and hang him. Life imprisonment is to good for him."
No television cameras were allowed in court Monday morning.
Devlin will appear in court Tuesday morning in Washington County to plead guilty to seven counts connected to the Shawn Hornbeck disappearance.
Those include kidnapping, attempted murder, and sexual assault.
Tuesday afternoon, he will stand before a St. Louis County judge to answer 71 charges.
And finally, either late Tuesday or on Wednesday, he will appear in federal court to plead to charges that include producing child pornography and taking a child across state lines for sex.
