Feb 21, 2008

Four individuals, all said to be related, were arraigned in Douglas County Associate Circuit Court here Tuesday morning for the murder of Dustin Skaggs, 20, of Ava. Charged are Benny Volner, 30, Elvis Volner, 20, Dennis Volner, 31, and Julia Volner, 28. The four appeared separately before Judge Craig Carter, of Douglas County, and each was ordered to appear at 9 a.m., March 4 for setting of preliminary hearings. Information released over the weekend by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Dept. said Dustin Skaggs was reported missing on Feb. 11. On Feb. 13, authorities received information of possible foul play and directed officers to a rock quarry in Laclede County. Following up on that information, officers recovered Skaggs’ vehicle and body on Saturday. All four suspects were taken into custody, and after questioning, each was charged with 1st degree murder and bond was set at $500,000 each. Following Tuesday’s court appearance, the four were returned to area jails where they are being held in lieu of bond. Arrest information shows that the four suspects went to the vicinity of the Skaggs home on Old Highway 5 in Douglas County around 3 a.m. Feb. 10. The plan, according to a written statement by Deputy Atonya Hampton, was that Julia Volner would stop her Jeep Cherokee on the road near the Skaggs residence and pretend to be having car trouble. Knowing Skaggs always left home between 3 and 3:30 a.m. to go to work, they would wait for him to pass. Julia stated, in the report based on questioning, that Elvis was crouched down in the front passenger seat and Benny and Dennis were hunkered down in the back seat. When Skaggs approached their car, Julia Volner flagged him down and said she needed a jump start. While Skaggs was attempting to give assistance, Julia’s statement said “Elvis snuck up behind Dustin and hit him in the head with a pipe.” In her statement, which was confirmed by statements taken from other suspects, Julia indicated Skaggs was hit about 20 times. Dustin’s body was then loaded into the trunk of his car and Elvis drove the car to Lebanon where it was deposited in the Phillipsburg quarry. The document states that some of the individuals stopped at Signal in Mansfield and bought gas and sodas before continuing to Laclede County. The report also states that the four suspects had gone to Laclede County early in the day on Saturday and found the rock quarry and removed steeples from the posts holding the barbed wire fence. They had then gone to a West Plains bar where they remained until around 1:15 to 1:30 a.m. Saturday. They then stopped for breakfast around 2 a.m. before driving back to the Skaggs residence between Ava and Mansfield. Dennis told Julia that Benny and his wife had broken up and his wife, Crystal, was having an affair with Dustin Skaggs. In the report, Julia said Dennis told her Benny and Elvis were going to steal Crystal’s boyfriend’s car and push it into the quarry.