Missouri father charged with strangling wife in front of children

Clear Facts

• Jonathan G. Houston, 44, a former Missouri corrections officer, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping after allegedly strangling his wife in front of their children.
• One child called 911 from a hotel and reported years of abuse, leading deputies to find the children and recover their mother’s body from a dumpster on the property.
• Houston allegedly planned the killing in advance, forced his children to participate in the attack, and disposed of the body without reporting the death.

A former Missouri probation and parole officer is now facing murder charges after authorities say he killed his wife in front of several of their children. The case has shocked the community and raised serious questions about the safety of children in homes marked by long-term domestic violence.

Jonathan G. Houston, 44, was arrested after one of his children called 911 from a hotel room and quietly told dispatchers that her father had “captured” her and her six siblings. The child also reported years of physical abuse at the hands of her father.

Deputies responded to the call and found the children at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Kingdom City, Missouri. One child told officers that Houston had strangled their mother ten months earlier while the children watched.

“There is no danger to the community. This seems to be an act of domestic violence and it’s very unfortunate for everybody involved,” Chief Deputy Curtis Hall of the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office told KOMU.

Another child told investigators that Houston had told her ahead of time that he planned to kill their mother, identified by authorities as 37-year-old Aunika C. Houston. The children said Houston forced one child to pour hot water on their mother and another to cover her mouth during the attack.

“At this point we’re 48 hours afterwards on a crime that we’re already 10 months behind on,” Hall said. “We have to be mindful of what we can release and what we should release.”

Houston allegedly locked the three youngest children in the bathroom and instructed the others to play loud music to drown out their mother’s screams. He later placed her body in a trash bag and threw it into a dumpster on the hotel grounds.

Houston has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. He is being held without bond. His children were placed into protective custody.

Deputies also said Houston is under investigation for other alleged assaults and a sexual assault involving additional victims.

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