Cox, Bogle get life for murder of Willard couple

Charges dropped against Plumb for being a cooperating witness.
Barring a pardon from the governor or an act of God, Theresa Cox and Duncan Bogle will both be in their 70’s before they even have the chance to breathe the air of freedom, again. Cox, 29, and Bogle, 22, both of Springfield, were given consecutive life sentences for the murders of Alexander Chute and Brianna Sproul on Monday, Oct. 31. Chute and Sproul were murdered in their home in Willard on Nov. 14, 2020. A then four-year-old girl was also found in the house, but was unharmed.
Cox pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder on Friday, Oct. 21, while Bogle pleaded guilty to the same charges, as well as one count of child endangerment, on Wednesday, Oct. 26. As part of their plea agreements, two counts of armed criminal action they were facing were dismissed.

Consecutive sentences
Under Missouri law, life in prison is 30 years. Because Cox and Bogle are serving their sentences consecutively, their sentences for the murder charges total 60 years (Bogle gets an extra year for the child endangerment charge), with credit for the time they spent in the Greene County Jail awaiting trial. Missouri law also requires they serve at least 85-percent of their sentence, or 51 years, before they become eligible for parole. As of press time, the two remained in the Greene County Jail pending their transfer to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Both Cox and Bogle are also required to make financial restitution to family members of their victims totaling $17,620.11 each.
The two are the latest to be sentenced in the deaths of Chute and Sproul. Matthew Plumb, who helped Cox plan the murders, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense and tampering with evidence in a felony in August and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Matthew Plumb’s son, Therin Plumb was originally charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the murders, but that charge was dismissed, without prejudice, at the request of Philip Furhman, assistant Greene County prosecuting attorney. Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson stated, in response to a media inquiry, that the charges were dropped because Therin Plumb was a cooperating witness in the prosecution of Matthew Plumb, Cox and Bogle.
“(The) case was dismissed pursuant to an agreement based upon (Therin Plumb’s) full cooperation in those prosecutions,” he said.