ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. _ A woman accused of murdering a Ku Klux Klan leader has agreed to testify against her son, according to court testimony here Friday.
Malissa Ancona, 44, of Leadwood, Mo., and her son Paul Edward Jinkerson Jr., 24, of Belgrade, Mo., are currently facing first-degree murder and other charges and have been accused of playing a role in the fatal Feb. 9 shooting of Frank Ancona.
Malissa Ancona initially reported her 51-year-old husband missing.
After his body was found near the Big River outside of Belgrade, Mo., investigators found surveillance video, a witness, store receipts and blood evidence that contradicted that missing person claim.
Charging documents say Malissa Ancona subsequently told police that Jinkerson used a 9mm handgun to shoot Frank Ancona in the head while he was asleep in bed.
Authorities have said that a shotgun was also used, at close range, and that Ancona and Jinkerson cleaned up the crime scene and then dumped Ancona's body.
Ancona told investigators where to find the pistol and shotgun, officials said.
Malissa Ancona and her son Jinkerson were indicted March 10 on charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse. Charging documents say they were "acting alone or in concert with another." Prosecutors have previously said Frank Ancona may have been killed because he told his wife he wanted a divorce.
Last week, St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney Jerrod Mahurin endorsed Malissa Ancona as a witness, prompting Jinkerson lawyer Eric Barnhart to seek a hearing about the extent of her cooperation.
Jinkerson's trial was set to begin Dec. 4, but Barnhart is seeking to have that date pushed back due to the latest development with Ancona, who he called "a major witness." "That changes the dynamics of the case," he said. Circuit Judge Wendy L. Wexler Horn said the request will be taken up at the next hearing in the case on Nov. 17.
Barnhart rejected a plea deal with prosecutors on July 21.
Frank Ancona was imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
