Missing Missouri Sisters: Man Charged With Murder
A man has been charged with murder in the deaths of two Missouri sisters.
July 16, 2012— -- A Missouri man has been charged with murder in the beating and suffocation deaths of two Missouri sisters who went missing over the weekend.
Police confirmed at a news conference Monday that the bodies of two women found Sunday in a field in Clinton County were those of Britny Haarup, 19, and Ashley Key, 22, who went missing Friday from their Edgerton home. Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd said Clifford Miller, 31, had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the women's deaths, according to ABC News station KMBC.
Miller is being held in jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond. If convicted of the crimes, he could face life in prison.
Zahnd said the state is reviewing the case to determine whether to seek the death penalty.
Platte County Sheriff Richard Anderson said at the news conference that Miller told detectives he was high on methamphetamines when he went to Haarup's home early Friday morning with the intent of having sex with her. Miller said he found Key asleep on a couch, and that after she woke up and confronted him, he beat and smothered her before going to Haarup's room and killing her, KMBC reported.
Haarup's fiance, Matt Meyers, reportedly found their two children, 6 months and 18 months old, alone in their crib when he returned home Friday evening. Meyers then ran to neighbors, saying there was blood inside the house. Police were called to the scene.
On Saturday morning, a white pickup truck belonging to the father of Haarup's fiance was found abandoned miles from the women's home.
No visible signs of foul play were found in or on the vehicle, police said.
The purses of both women and Haarup's cell phone were found inside the house, but bed sheets from the home were reportedly missing. Haarup and Key were last seen Friday morning.
"She is a very good mother. She would never leave her kids at home, especially for that amount of time," said Cassandra Meyers, Haarup's sister-in-law.
Friends and family members had held a candlelight vigil Saturday night in Edgerton to pray for the women's safe return.
ABC News' Olivia Katrandjian contributed to this report.
