Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office’s Cold Case Unit assisted the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney in obtaining a second-degree murder conviction related to the long-unsolved death of Karla Delcour in 1987.
“As Attorney General, I want to send the message that my office will persist in obtaining justice for victims, no matter how much time has elapsed since the crime was committed,” Attorney General Bailey said. “I’m proud of the work my Cold Case Unit did in partnership with the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney to achieve this.”
On Thursday, August 3, Circuit Judge Craig Hellmann sentenced Kirby R. King to 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for his role in the 1987 murder of Karla Delcour. In June of this year, King pleaded guilty to manslaughter and felonious restraint.
Delcour’s murder remained unsolved for decades after her body was discovered on June 24, 1987. Delcour appeared to have been bound at the wrists and around her neck. Her death was ruled a homicide. In 2018, Franklin County Cold Case Investigators reopened the case. Their investigation revealed that Delcour was murdered on or around June 21, 1987, at a home in Franklin County.
In 2019, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Becker charged Kirby King with second-degree murder for his involvement in the events leading to Delcour’s death.
Upon his request, Assistant Attorney General Paige Wheeler assisted Becker in prosecuting the case.
