Elain Kay Young

Case information

• Defendant: Elain Kay Young, 57, of Novinger, MO
• Co-defendant: Katherine A. Mock, 58, of Cassville, Mo.
• Victim: Melvin “Beau” Griesbauer, 48
• Victim relationship: Griesbauer was Young’s husband and his death was fatal.

Timeline

• 2000 — Young was accused of suffocating her mother.
• 1994 — Young allegedly solicited two men to kill Frank Niece for insurance of more than $300,000.
• 1996-03 — Young was alleged to have asked a man and a woman to kill or help kill David Crawford, her husband.
• March 22, 2006 (late evening hours) / March 23, 2006 (early morning hours) — Mock and Young caused the death of Griesbauer by causing him to be shot in the head with a .30-30 Winchester caliber rifle.
• March 23, 2006 (early in the morning) — Griesbauer was shot with a Winchester .30-30 rifle.
• March 22, 2006 — Mock traveled from her residence in Cassville, MO, to Griesbauer and Young’s residence in Novinger, MO.
• March 22, 2006 (late evening hours) / early morning hours of March 23, 2006 — Young drove to Kirksville to pick up Griesbauer at the conclusion of his work shift.
• March 22, 2006 — Young and Mock were at Young’s farm; Mock was staying at the farm.
• March 23, 2006 — Mock called 911 at 2.01am sobbing and said that she and Young had just found Griesbauer.
• June 17, 2012 — Young was sentenced to life in prison.
• March 18, 2012 — Young and Mock were convicted by a federal jury in March (jurisdictional information provided by the case summary).
• October 23, 2009 — Federal charges against Young and Mock were announced.
• April 2009 — Young mailed letters to potential witnesses directing them not to disclose her ability to escape from custody and directing them how to communicate regarding her ability to escape and travel to a non-extradition country.
• 2009 — A later release stated the prosecution’s allegations regarding mail and interstate commerce used for insurance claims.

Background

Young was described as working in various schools in Missouri and being in severe financial trouble.

• Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dittmeier said Young was “obsessed” with keeping the farm.
• Prosecutors said Young hatched the plot to kill Griesbauer for $1.2 million in insurance to save the family farm and dog breeding business in Novinger, Mo.

The offence

Young and Katherine A. Mock were charged with federal conspiracy charges involving the murder of Young’s husband.

• The indictment alleged that Young and Mock planned and caused the murder of Young’s husband, Melvin B. Griesbauer, on March 23, 2006, so that Young could collect his insurance policies.
• The charges included:
  • one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire for each defendant, and
  • one felony count of murder for hire for each defendant.

Griesbauer’s death occurred by gunshot.

• He was shot early in the morning of March 23, 2006, with a Winchester .30-30 rifle.
• Investigators said the rifle was cocked after Griesbauer was shot.
• Prosecutors alleged that the women caused Griesbauer to be shot in the head with a .30-30 Winchester caliber rifle, a firearm previously in the possession of Young and her family.
• The prosecution said the death was concealed by making false statements and trying to make the death appear accidental or a suicide.

Investigation

DNA evidence connected both women to the crime scene items.

• DNA from both women was found on a ski mask with gunshot residue that was found after the murder.
• Mock’s DNA was on a pair of gloves laced with gunshot residue.
• Investigators found insurance documents and a note in Young’s possession containing instructions and an account of a prior offer.

Investigators and authorities named in the case included:

• Adair County Sheriff’s Office
• Barry County Sheriff’s Office
• Missouri State Highway Patrol
• Kirksville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Arrest / custody-related allegations

The indictment alleged that Young directed potential witnesses regarding her ability to escape from custody.

• In April 2009, Young mailed letters to potential witnesses directing them not to disclose her ability to escape from custody.
• The letters also directed them how to communicate regarding her ability to escape and travel to a non-extradition country.

Trial

The federal trial took place before United States District Judge Henry Autrey.

• The trial was described as a six day trial held before United States District Judge Henry Autrey.
• Young and Mock were convicted in March by a federal jury of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
• Lawyers for both women continued to deny their guilt.
• Young showed no reaction when she heard the verdict in March, and Mock broke down after apologizing.

Quoted statements included:

• Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dittmeier said Young, who worked in various schools in Missouri, was in severe financial trouble and “obsessed” with keeping the farm.
• Dittmeier said Young told one of two men she was seeing while Griesbauer was serving with the National Guard in Iraq that, “I wish he were dead. I'd like to kill the son of a bitch”.
• Mock was described as calling 911 at 2.01am sobbing, and Mock said, “There's a big hole in the side of his face,” in the recording played in court on Tuesday.
• Investigators found a note in Young’s possession that said, “Use her drugged state to convince her she shot him” and “Offered 10,000 to kill him. Was turned down.”

Sentencing

• On June 17, 2012, Young was sentenced to life in prison.
• The case summary stated that both defendants were sentenced to life in prison, and Mock was sentenced first.
• The case summary stated that Young and Mock were each facing life in prison at sentencing.
• The sentencing references included that a judge was required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
• Mock’s reaction at her sentencing included breaking down after apologizing, saying that she prayed for Griesbauer's family every night and saying that she would have taken his place the night of the murder.

Appeals

No appeals were included in the provided material.

Charges and allegations described beyond the fatal shooting

The material included additional allegations of killings and attempts relating to prior spouses and her mother.

• Prosecutors accused Young of suffocating her mother in 2000.
• The prosecution said Young tried to murder her husbands twice before:
  • In 1994, she solicited two men to kill Frank Niece for insurance of more than $300,000.
  • She also asked a man and a woman to kill or help kill David Crawford, her husband from 1996-03.
• The material alleged that Young killed her mother in 2000 by injecting her with a lethal dose of morphine and smothering her with a pillow, according to STLtoday.com.
• The indictment described that Young provided Mock with pills containing hydrocodone and acetaminophen, and that Young told Mock to consume the pills in order to receive a short term in a mental hospital and avoid a penitentiary sentence.

Offence details regarding concealment, recruitment, and insurance processing

Recruitment and offers were described.

• Witnesses testified:
  • Mock asked relatives if they knew someone who would kill for money.
  • Another witness testified that Young offered $10,000 and promised to kill his wife if he killed her third husband.
• The indictment alleged that in March 2006:
  • Mock attempted to recruit a person to commit the murder for $6,000, and
  • Mock attempted to recruit a different person for $10,000.

Attempts to conceal involvement were alleged.

• The indictment alleged that both Mock and Young tried to conceal their involvement in the murder by making false statements to other persons.

Insurance claims were processed using mail and interstate commerce.

• Beginning in late March 2006, Young used facilities in interstate commerce and thereafter the mail as part of processing the insurance claims.

Prosecution and investigation credits

Prosecutors and officials credited for the investigation and prosecution included:

• Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap
• Adair County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Williams
• Roland Corvington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis, who said: “This was a long term investigation,” and “The cooperation from the Adair County Sheriff's Office, Barry County Sheriff's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol helped bring this case successfully to this point.”
• Reap and Williams commended the work on the case by:
  • Adair County Sheriff’s Office
  • Barry County Sheriff’s Office
  • Missouri State Highway Patrol
  • Assistant United States Attorneys Tom Dittmeier and Michael Reilly
• Assistant United States Attorneys Tom Dittmeier, Michael Reilly, and Patrick Judge prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Insurance policy details alleged in the indictment

The indictment alleged Griesbauer had multiple insurance policies, and Young was the beneficiary.

• Young knew that Griesbauer had a $600,000 basic life insurance policy issued by the Army And Air Force Mutual Aid Association (AAFMA) through his service in the United States Army National Guard, and that Young was the beneficiary of the policy upon his death.
• She was also the beneficiary under two other policies concerning Griesbauer.
• Young enrolled Griesbauer in a $37,500 accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy through Monumental Life Insurance Company in connection with her employment at the Milan Schools and her association with the Missouri State Teachers Association.
• Young enrolled Griesbauer in another accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy for $100,000 through Continental Casualty Company, a subsidiary of CNA.
• Prosecutors also alleged that Young told Mock that Griesbauer had taken out a $300,000 insurance policy on her life.

Outcome

• Young and Mock were convicted by a federal jury in March of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in the death of Young’s fourth husband, Melvin “Beau” Griesbauer.
• The material stated that the case resulted in life sentences for both defendants.