On September 7, 2018, 35-year-old Lance E. Kilgore was killed in a calculated act of violence at the Port Convenience Store in Osceola, Missouri. Lance, a tow boat captain and father, had arrived at the location for a custody exchange of his two-year-old son. While he was speaking with his mother-in-law in the parking lot, his father-in-law, 77-year-old Charles Sander, approached and fatally shot him.
Immediately following the murder, Sander turned the weapon on himself, committing suicide at the scene.
Investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office quickly determined that the murder-suicide was not a spontaneous event but the result of a conspiracy orchestrated by Lance’s estranged wife, Elizabeth Kilgore. Authorities discovered that the couple had been embroiled in a contentious divorce and custody battle. Evidence revealed that Elizabeth had previously expressed a desire to have Lance killed rather than allow him to have custody of their son. During her employment as a jail guard at the St. Clair County Jail, she had even attempted to solicit two inmates to commit the murder.
When those attempts failed, Elizabeth Kilgore manipulated her terminally ill father, Charles Sander, into carrying out the crime. She reportedly convinced him to 'handle her problem' so she could retain full custody of the child. On the day of the shooting, Elizabeth was not present at the exact moment of the gunfire but arrived minutes later with the couple's son, claiming she was running late. A search of her vehicle and belongings later uncovered methamphetamine and a substantial amount of cash, which she admitted was intended as 'run money.'
Elizabeth Kilgore was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, possession of a controlled substance, introducing a dangerous instrument into a county jail, and acceding to corruption. In March 2021, a jury found her guilty on all counts for her role in masterminding the plot that led to the death of her husband. Her conviction was subsequently upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals in November 2022.
