Missouri man who allegedly held woman hostage in wooden box wanted in her slaying

CLINTON, Mo., May 21 (UPI) -- A man who allegedly held his former girlfriend hostage in a wooden box for four months, is now a suspect in her murder, Clinton, Mo. police said.

James Barton Horn, Jr. 47, has been named as a suspect in the death of former girlfriend Sandra Kay Sutton, 46, and her son, Zachary Wade Sutton, 17, police said. Police said both victims were found in the family home with fatal gunshot wounds.

Police have been searching for Horn since May 1, a day after Sandra Sutton reported she had escaped from a wooden box in Horn's house. In that investigation, police found a box similar to what Sutton described, 100 inches long, 52 inches tall and about 48 inches wide, in Horn's house. Inside the box, investigators found a flashlight, sleeping bag, reading materials and a bucket of urine and feces.

Horn, described as 5-foot-11 and about 175 pounds with brown eyes and hair, is a registered sex offender after spending more than a decade in prison for the kidnapping and rape of three women.