The mystery surrounding the disappearance of U.S. woman Sharon Kinne, who was tried for three killings before vanishing from a Mexican prison more than 50 years ago, is nearing a resolution. Authorities have scheduled a news conference for Thursday to address the case of Kinne, who was charged with the murders of her Missouri husband, her boyfriend’s wife, and a man she met in a Mexican bar before turning 25.
Kinne’s whereabouts have remained unknown since she allegedly escaped from a prison in Ixtacalapan on December 7, 1969. Her story has been explored in various media, including the book “I’m Just an Ordinary Girl: The Sharon Kinne Story” and shows like Discovery I.D.’s “Deadly Women”. An FBI spokeswoman directed inquiries to the Jackson County sheriff’s office in Missouri, which declined to confirm any details before the news conference, including whether Kinne had died. However, a press release promised that answers would be forthcoming. The sheriff’s department stated, “We hope that by bringing closure to this case, we can provide a sense of resolution not only to the friends and families of the innocent victims she murdered but also to those who were affected by her actions, including her loved ones.”
In March 1960, Kinne, who was living in a ranch home in Independence, Missouri, had been married at 16. Her 25-year-old husband, James Kinne, was shot in the back of the head while napping. Kinne, mother of two, claimed she had heard her 2-year-old daughter ask, “How does this thing work, Daddy?” just before a gunshot rang out. Kinne found her toddler holding her husband’s .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol. The death was initially ruled accidental. However, later court testimony revealed that Kinne and her husband had been experiencing marital problems, and Kinne had been involved with other men.
Reports and interviews with investigators revealed that Kinne met car salesman Walter Jones when she went to buy a new car with the proceeds from her husband’s life insurance and the sale of their home. Just over a month later, Jones’s wife, Patricia, was found shot to death. On June 1, 1960, Kinne was charged with the murder of Patricia Jones. Investigators also re-examined James Kinne’s death, and a Jackson County grand jury indicted Kinne for that crime as well.
In June 1961, Kinne was tried for the death of Patricia Jones, but an all-male jury acquitted her, to the applause of the courtroom. In January 1962, Kinne was convicted of killing her husband, but the Missouri Supreme Court later overturned the conviction due to improper jury selection. She was retried, but the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Kinne then fled to Mexico City, where she encountered Francisco Ordonez in a bar. After going to a hotel together, gunshots were heard around 3 a.m., and Ordonez was found dead on the floor. Kinne was sentenced to 13 years for the murder of Ordonez. Ballistics tests later confirmed that the gun found in Kinne’s motel room in Mexico was the weapon used to kill Patricia Jones. However, Kinne could not be retried for the murder of Jones, and prosecutors closed the case.
Kinne was known in Mexico as “La Pistolera,” or “The Gunslinger,” and gave several interviews before her apparent escape. In a 1965 interview with “Saturday Evening Post,” Kinne remarked, “I knew out there, out of Kansas City and Independence, that the world was going on its way someplace. And I wasn’t going anywhere.”
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