S1, E2 The Lady in the Woods - Part 1
We will be covering the murder of Sharon Sabla today. Our story begins on a cool November morning in Lebanon, Missouri. On November 15th, 2008, a six year old child and his grandfather were making the trek into the cool Lebanon, Missouri woods for a morning of deer hunting. Little did they know the gruesome discovery that waited for them on Highway AA.
Roughly 13 miles from Lebanon, sits Kinfolk Road and Highway AA intersection. It was near this spot that the hunters discovered a hinged tool chest resting at the bottom of a hill against a fence. There was a foul odor being emitted from the box as well as liquid seeping out. It wasn’t until they used bolt cutters to open it did they find the body of a woman, folded and encased in 600 pounds of concrete. It was estimated by Steve Murell, Laclede County’s coroner, that the caucasian woman was between the ages 25 to 40 years old, between 5’ 5’’ and 5’ 8’’, and weighed roughly 135 pounds. She had been estimated as being deceased for approximately ten days to two weeks prior to being discovered. Despite being almost entirely covered in concrete, the coroner was also able to identify that she had medium length hair and that she had more than likely delivered at least one child in her life. In addition, the coroner reported that she was well cared for, had no tattoos but did have her ears pierced at least once. She was also reportedly wearing sleep attire. The cause of death was also identified at this time but they had opted to not release that information to the public.
Listen Now!
It’s hard to believe that someone this well taken care of wouldn’t have been reported missing. At this time, correct me if I’m wrong Phyllis, but there were no missing persons listed for the local area so initially they thought she wasn’t from the area. The local police department was completely stumped which since speaking to you so much about these local cases we are covering is very unsurprising. .
As they continued to examine the victim, they were unable to create a facial profile due to the concrete but were able to lift fingerprints as well as DNA. As time passed, and no ID was made, local investigating parties ended up asking for national assistance in identifying this woman.. A lot of online individuals through Websleuths and similar websites were trying to brainstorm who our victim was. While lots of tips were brought in, nothing ended up revealing who our victim was
On or about December 5, 2008 a well-meaning neighbor reported to Laclede County Sheriff’s Department that she had not had contact with her friend, Sharon Sabla. for “quite some time.” Armed with this information the sheriff’s department reached out to Sharon’s Sabla’s daughter, Ginger Coffelt in order to obtain a DNA sample for testing. If you remember we previously mentioned that despite being unable to create any sort of facial profiling, DNA was obtained as well as fingerprint from the body. And as fate would have it, there was a match. The body that six year old deer hunter had found carefully folded up inside the tool chest, covered in 600 pounds on concrete, was Sharon Sabla.
Sharon Sabla in happier times
It didn’t take long for Sharon’s husband, Horst Sabla, to become a person of interest. Horst Sabla was arrested on December 10, 2008. During court proceedings it was revealed that Horst Sabla was held for 14 hours of questioning. FOURTEEN HOURS.
I don’t know about anyone else and I don’t claim to be an expert on questioning by the police or anything of that nature but 14 hours straight of questioning feels like a very long time. And I understand that this man was being questioned about his wife’s murder, but how many times have we heard of cases with exact situations like this. Suspects being questioned for long periods of time and eventually they get sick of it and falsely confess to committing the crime?
Eventually a confession is exactly what happened. After fourteen hours of questioning, Horst admitted to shooting his wife in the back of the head, folding her at the waist, and putting her inside the tool box. He reported that at first he covered her body in lime and stored the tool box in his garage, before finally deciding it was time to move her. He then reportedly poured concrete over her before sealing the toolbox shut. Horst explained that recently the couple had lost their home to foreclosure so they were forced to move into a travel trailer together located at Thompson RV Park.
Horst Sabla at booking.
We were able to confirm via court records that the foreclosure process on the Sabla home had began in May of 2008. By June of 2008 the Sabla home was indeed foreclosed on and the property was returned to the Federal National Mortgage Association.
On top of their home being foreclosed on both Horst and Sharon had pretty serious medical issues they were dealing with. Horst and his wife had been diagnosed with HIV due to Sharon contracting the disease during a surgical procedure. Horst reported that Sharon had threatened to shoot herself if he didn’t do it for her. Horst also stated that moving the toolbox from his van and “pushing it downhill almost killed him.”
After Horst’s confession more and more information was coming out of the woodwork. Horst and Sharon’s neighbors, Neil and Cheryl Carpenter reported that the day after Sharon’s body was initially discovered, Horst reported to them that Sharon left for “no reason” and that she took “$32,000 and maxed out his credit cards.” This caused both Neil and Cheryl to become very suspicious, however despite their skepticism, they reported that Horst participated in “water-cooler” talk with them. Horst reportedly told both of them that, and this is a direct quote, “if I really wanted to kill my wife I’d just tie a rock around her neck or a piece of concrete and throw her in the lake.”
On December 11, 2008 Horst was brought to Laclede County Court where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. I didn’t realize how common it is for individuals to waive their preliminary hearing, and maybe I’m understanding it wrong, but I believe the preliminary hearing is where the courts test whether or not there is enough evidence to move forward. I’m sure it’s more than that but I don’t have a legal degree. I digress. Horst pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Horst had a pre-trial conference on December 22, 2008. At this point we’re just going through court formalities. Eventually we reach a motion hearing on March 23, 2009 where Horst’s attorney, Stacey Patterson, filed a change of venue motion.
I’m sure most people listening understand what a change of venue motion is, however, just in case we have any listeners that don’t, a change of venue motion basically asserts that the defendant would be unable to have any sort of fair trial by jury if the case were to remain in the originating county.
On March 23, 2009 Horst’s change of venue motion was granted and the case was moved to Camden County. For those that don’t know Camden County is a hop, skip, and a jump away from Laclede County. A new fun fact is Camden County’s most recent claim to fame was all the partying happening at the Lake of the Ozarks during last summer in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. I’m not sure how much they want to claim that, but it is what it is.
After the case was transferred to Camden County, there was a ton of back and forth, legal formalities, all while Horst remains incarcerated. Finally on April 5, 2010 the first day of a three day long jury trial was held. And on the fifth and final day, the case was submitted to the jury at 1:38PM. By 3PM, the jury had returned with their verdict. Horst was found guilty of Murder in the First Degree and Armed Criminal Action.
After the conviction Horst Sabla wasted no time filing for an appeal. His latest one was in 2012 and it was based on ineffective counsel. Unfortunately for Horst, this did not work out for him and on June 2014 the judge ruled against Horst and his conviction was upheld. Horst is currently incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrects system where he will remain for the rest of his life.
#truecrime #truecrimecommunity #truecrimepodcast #murder #crime #podcast #truecrimeaddict #serialkiller #serialkillers #truecrimejunkie #horror #murderino #podcastersofinstagram #mystery #unsolved #truecrimeobsessed #killer #truecrimefan #truecrimememes #creepy #unsolvedmysteries #podcasts #tedbundy #paranormal #scary #criminal #history #death #lebanonmissouri #mythsmonstersmurders
