St. Louis County, MO (KTRS) The estranged husband of a Sunset Hills woman who went missing nearly a year ago is facing charges.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced Wednesday morning that John McLaughlin has been charged with second degree murder in the death of Linda McLaughlin. McCulloch says the presumed remains of Linda were found Tuesday in a shallow grave.
“The location was determined with the use of various technology and also at the same time we were able to put Mr. McLaughlin, John McLaughlin at that very location, which is at a very secluded area in the state of Missouri.”
McCulloch declined to say the type of technology that was used to locate the remains. He did say that charges could be upgraded. “The investigation is still on-going. There still is a lot that needs to be done. When all of the information comes in, it’s certainly possible that charge could be upped, maybe increased to murder in the first degree. There may be other people who get charged, specifically the brother, depending on how that information turns out.”
John McLaughlin’s brother, Robert McLaughlin was also arrested Tuesday night. McCulloch said he doesn’t believe he was involved with causing the death of Linda, but may have participated afterwards.
Linda McLaughlin went missing on June 1, 2015. This was just days before a settlement hearing in her pending divorce, according to investigators.
The remains have been sent to the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Officer for positive identification and to determine the cause of death.
