Pierce City man charged in killing of woman 3 decades ago

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MOUNT VERNON, Mo. (AP)   A 65-year-old man has been charged in the killing of a southwest Missouri woman more than 30 years ago.

Lawrence Gene Timmons, of Pierce City, was indicted Friday and is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge in the killing of 31-year-old Cynthia Smith, of Aurora.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that Smith’s body was found in August 1988, in the Dry Valley Cemetery area near Pierce City.

She was last seen about a week earlier leaving a bar with a man. A babysitter filed a missing person’s report when Smith didn’t collect her 4- and 8-year-old sons.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for Timmons. He also faces multiple forgery and unlawful firearm possession charges in unrelated cases.

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