Man held on suspicion of mother's murder
The autopsy states the cause of death was drowning.
Published Dec. 9, 2008
Daniel A. Sanders pled not guilty Monday to a charge of second-degree murder, assistant attorney Andrew Scholz said.
Sanders was granted a bond of $1 million in cash, with a trial date set for Jan. 7, 2009.
Nineteen-year-old Sanders was brought into custody on suspicion of murdering his 53-year-old-mother, Helen C. Sanders, according to a news release from the Columbia Police Department.
On Aug. 14, CPD officers stopped Daniel Sanders due to a traffic offense. After discovering that Sanders was driving without his license, they detained him and had his vehicle towed. Before towing, officers followed protocol and searched the vehicle.
During the search, police discovered his mother's body in the trunk of the car, the news release stated.
Daniel Sanders was arrested for tampering with evidence and suspicion of murder.
The biggest issue in the case was the lack of an apparent cause of death.
"There was no knife in her back," CPD Capt. Brad Nelson said. "There were no obvious signs of what led to her demise."
This caused problems for Boone County Medical Examiner Eddie Adelstein, who performed the autopsy. Both Helen and Daniel Sanders had defensive wounds like scratch marks on their bodies. DNA samples were taken from Daniel Sanders after being taken into custody and from his mother during her autopsy. Adelstein said he does not know the outcome of the lab analysis.
His autopsy concluded that Helen Sanders suffered asphyxiation and ultimately drowned.
Nelson said police can show how and when the crime happened but won't comment on the evidence.
Nelson said the police have about 100 leads in the case. One of the more notable is Daniel Sanders' 16-year-old brother Gary Sanders, who police believe was present in the house when the murder occurred.
For now, Gary Sanders is still out of custody and is believed to be staying with family somewhere in Texas, Nelson said.
This is an ongoing investigation and no information regarding motive is being released at this time.