Background: The area of 810 South 23rd Street in Unionville, Missouri (Google Maps). Inset: Danny Gilworth (Putnam County Sheriff”s Office).
A Missouri man is accused of shooting and killing his wife and then lighting their home on fire to get rid of the evidence.
Danny Gilworth, 72, faces charges of second-degree murder, second-degree arson, and armed criminal action, as well as the unlawful use of a weapon and felony tampering with physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty, according to court records, and is being held with no bond.
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On May 24 at about 10:35 a.m., someone was visiting a family member in the area of 810 South 23rd Street in Unionville when they saw smoke coming out of a house. As they walked around the home to try and enter through the front door, they were “confronted” by the homeowner, Gilworth, a Missouri State Highway Patrol probable cause statement details.
“Get away from the house,” Gilworth is said to have ordered the witness while pointing a rifle at them. “It’s been a bad day,” he reportedly added.
“I started the damn fire myself,” Gilworth admitted, per the trooper who filed the probable cause statement. The witness then left and called 911.
Minutes later, a Putnam County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at the home and saw Gilworth outside with a rifle in his hands, the document continues. The suspect dropped the weapon when ordered to do so, but when the deputy tried to handcuff him, Gilworth “pulled away” and told the deputy “he would have to kill him.”
He is said to have eventually complied with commands and was arrested and brought to the Putnam County Jail. It was around this time that family members of Sandra Gilworth, 70, arrived, and told authorities their mother “was most likely in the house.”
After firefighters put the fire out and the Missouri Division of Fire Safety investigated, law enforcement found a dead woman inside the home. “Also while conducting their investigation, the Missouri Division of Fire Safety was able to determine an accelerant was used to ignite the fire,” the court document added.
More from Law&Crime: Doctor found dead in house fire was killed by the husband she was trying to divorce: DA
Days after the fire, Danny Gilworth was charged with second-degree arson and unlawful use of a weapon. On June 18, the complaint against him was amended to include the charge of murder with the knowing use, assistance and aid of a deadly weapon.
The tampering charge was also filed due to the suspect allegedly “altering or destroying” the structure “including the body” of the victim, specifically by arson “with the purpose to impair the availability of evidence for investigation of murder.”
Unionville is located in the northern part of the state, around 9 miles south of the border with Iowa.
