Third defendant pleads guilty in death of woman shot in well

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. (AP) — The third of nine defendants has entered a guilty plea for her role in the death of a southwest Missouri woman who was kidnapped and shot after she was forced into a well. Thirty-nine-year-old Christina Knapp, of Stotts City, pleaded guilty Tuesday to robbery and kidnapping in the death of Sarah Pasco. Prosecutors said Pasco and another woman were kidnapped in August 2020 and forced into an abandoned well, where they were shot. The other woman survived. All the nine defendants were initially charged with first-degree murder and other counts. Lawrence County Prosecutor Don Trotter says he expects most of the remaining defendants to take plea deals in the next few weeks.