When we left off in Part 1, Sharon Kinne had been arrested for the murder of Patricia Jones, her lover’s wife. Sharon was accused of luring Patricia into meeting her, then taking her to a wooded area of Independence, Missouri where she shot her four times. Patricia died from her wounds and Sharon left her laying in the woods.
Then, like many criminals who just cannot seem to help themselves, she inserted herself into the investigation by being the one to ‘find’ the body a couple of days later. She came under immediate suspicion because it was revealed in no time that she was having an affair with the victim’s husband AND that her husband had been “accidentally” shot in the head just a few weeks earlier. I am not sure she could have drawn more attention to herself.
So, Sharon was charged with the murder of Patricia Jones and her case was set for trial in January of 1961. However, that date had to be postponed because Sharon gave birth to her third child, Marla Christine Kinne, on January 16. Sharon claimed this child was the product of her late husband, James Kinne. However, little Marla was not born until ten months after James was killed. Everyone believed Marla was the product of Sharon’s affair with Patricia Jones’ husband, Walter.
Sharon had a terrible relationship with her former inlaws, Haggard and Kattie Kinne. They were deeply religions, which Sharon hated, and they never really believed that Sharon did not kill their son. However, they cared very much for their grandchildren. They made a deal with Sharon’s defense attorney. They would publicly support Sharon during the trial in return for visitation with little Danna and Troy.
The Kinne’s knew that it would be important to Sharon’s public persona to have the backing of her dead husband’s family. They appeared to support Sharon for the next four years and did so in order to be able to have access to their grandchildren.
Sharon’s trial began in June 1961. The jury consisted of twelve men, which wasn’t unusual in 1961. Sharon used her looks and flirty personality to her benefit in trying to win over these twelve men. Both Walter Jones and John Boldizs testified they were having affairs with Sharon. The medical examiner did a great job explaining the injuries to Patricia and the prosecution laid out their case fairly well. Despite all this, she was found not guilty.
She quite famously thanked the jurors for doing the right thing. One juror even pulled out paper and pen and asked for Sharon’s autograph. She happily complied. Even though she was on trial for murder, Sharon was clearly enjoying her moment in the sun. This interaction with a juror is something that simply would not be accepted today, at least not right there in the court room!
Not long after Patricia’s death, her husband Walter remarried and moved back to his hometown of St. Joseph. He returned for the trial, but could no longer live in the Independence area.
Sharon wasn’t off the hook just yet. While she could not be tried again for the murder of Patricia, she still had the charges involving James’ death still outstanding. That trial was set for January 8, 1962. This time, there were 11 male jurors and 1 female. At this trial, Sharon was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. She appealed.
Sharon went to prison, serving time at the Tipton Correctional Center in Missouri, not far from the State’s capital of Jefferson City. There is speculation that Sharon had a relationship with a woman named Margaret Hopkins during this time. The story is they were ‘married’ in prison and when she was released, Margaret was directed by Sharon to retrieve the murder weapon used to kill Patricia. Sharon had hidden the weapon and wanted to ensure it was not found by police as her conviction was under review by the courts.
In March, 1963, her conviction for James’ murder was overturned. Sharon was released awaiting a retrial, which occurred on March 23, 1964. This case ended with a mistrial after it was discovered that a law partner of the prosecutor had once been retained by one of the jurors. What? That seems pretty far removed, but mistrials have happened over less.
A third trial began on June 29, 1964. This time the case ended in a hung jury. Prosecutors were left to decide if they would try again, but in the meantime, Sharon was still considered out on bond pending new charges. They decided to move forward and another trial date was set for October, 1964.
In the meantime, Sharon somehow managed to leave the country! She had a new lover, Francis Samuel Pugliese, who went with her. She left all three children with the Kinnes.
Sharon was travelling under the name Janette Pugliese and she and Francis registered at a hotel in Mexico City as husband and wife. Even though they had brought one or two guns with them to Mexico, Sharon insisted on buying another one while there because she felt ‘unsafe’.
About two weeks into their Mexico adventure, Sharon went out to run a few errands. She and Francis had been very sick over the food and water consumption that did not agree with them. She needed to get out of the hotel for a bit, telling Francis she was going in search of medication. It’s pretty clear from her mugshot photo that things were not going well for Sharon in Mexico City.
Instead of getting medication, Sharon went into a bar and met a man, Francisco Parades Ordonez. She later told police that she went there just to look at some pictures he had, but that he made sexual advances toward her, forcing her to shoot him in self defense.
Hearing gunshots, a hotel employee rushed to the room. When he entered, Sharon shot him in the shoulder. He ran back out, locking the door behind him and locking Sharon inside. Then he called the police.
When Sharon was arrested, the police did not believe her story about Francisco making advances toward her. They believed she was trying to rob him and when he did not comply, she shot him.
Sharon and her lover, Francis Pugliese, were arrested. Among the items collected as evidence in their case was the .22 caliber authorities believed was used in Patricia Jones’ murder – the one where Sharon was found not guilty. Authorities from Kansas City actually went to Mexcio because they were fighting to get the gun released to them. They were unable to get the gun, but Mexican authorities did allow them to have ballistics run.
While they could not re-try Sharon for Patricia’s murder, they were happy to have at least found that they were right and the bullets matched the ones found in their investigation of Patricia’s murder.
In the summer of 1965, Pugliese was acquitted and deported back to the States. Sharon was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years but on appeal, that was increased to thirteen years. Sharon told reporters she got the extra three years because she “didn’t repent”.
Sharon stayed in the Mexican prison in Ixtapalapan until December of 1969. During a prison blackout, which authorities say lasted only 3-8 minutes, Sharon somehow managed to escape.
There were extensive manhunts, but despite that she has never been found. Some say that Sharon bribed some guards to look the other way as she escaped during the blackout. They managed to figure out her escape route, which included crawling through windows, over walls and into a tree and using a man’s belt to lower herself from the tree onto grounds outside the prison wall. The authorities believed she had to have had help, but never found out who.
So, even though it is believed that Sharon killed James, Patricia and Francisco Ordonez, she was only punished for the murder that occurred in Mexico City. There has never been justice for Patricia Jones or James Kinne.
When Sharon escaped from the Mexican prison, she was only 30 years old. She might have lived a long life after that having never really answered for her crimes. Her children, left in the care of the Kinne’s, never saw their mother again. The youngest never even knew her. Thankfully, the Kinne’s loved their grandchildren. I truly hope they lived happily with them and had as normal a childhood as they could.
As for Sharon, presuming she committed these two murders in Independence, I hope she spent the remainder of her life afraid of being caught, paranoid and looking over her shoulder. There is no real justice to be had. It’s possible she could still be alive as she would be in her upper 80’s now. But knowing her penchant for getting into trouble, it seems unlikely.
“I’m Just An Ordinary Girl – The Sharon Kinne Story” by James Hays
Kansas City Star, via Newspapers.com