Accused of murder, KC-area woman evaded police for 50 years. Now, her case is closed
A notorious decades-old criminal case involving a woman who allegedly killed two people in Jackson County and escaped a Mexican prison has come to a close after a tip led law enforcement to discover she died in Canada.
Sharon Kinne, who spent five decades evading law enforcement, was positively identified by investigators to be the same person who went by the name Diedra Glabus in Canada.
On Jan. 29, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office dismissed all pending charges against Kinne, ending a 64-year fight for justice.
“We are ready to hopefully move on, on behalf of her family, her loved ones and this community,” Jackson County Prosecutor Melisa Johnson said at a news conference Thursday.
Kinne accused in two KC-area murders
In March 1960, Kinne told Jackson County deputies that she heard a gunshot while she was in the bathroom and found her husband, James Kinne, shot to death in their bedroom. She claimed their 2-year-old daughter accidentally shot him while playing with a gun.
Months later, in May 1960, Patricia Jones was reported missing by her husband, Walter Jones, who investigators discovered had an affair with Sharon Kinne. After Kinne claimed to be pregnant, Jones ended their relationship.
Kinne met her former lover, John Boldiz, later that month. Investigators said they went to Phelps Road near Interstate 70, where Kinne showed Boldiz the body of Patricia Jones, who investigators say had been shot four times with .22 caliber bullets. When Boldiz proposed going to the police, Kinne insisted he take her home first.
When police questioned Boldiz at at Phelps Road, he admitted Kinne had been present when the body was found, investigators said.
On May 31, 1960, Kinne was arrested for the murders of Patricia Jones and James Kinne.
Murder conviction reversed, before a third murder
In June 1961, a jury found Kinne not guilty in the murder of Patricia Jones. For the murder of her husband, Kinne was found guilty at trial and sentenced to life in prison on January 11, 1962.
Then in March 1963, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed Kinne’s conviction, granting her a new trial, and she was released on a $25,000 bond.
While she was on bond, investigators learned Kinne had fled to Mexico with a new boyfriend.
On September 18, 1964, Kinne shot a man in a Mexico City hotel room and was again arrested for murder. Authorities found a High Standard .22 caliber pistol in her room, which Kansas City Police Department ballistic experts later linked to the murder of Patricia Jones.
Kinne was convicted of the killing and sentenced to 13 years in a Mexican prison. While incarcerated, she failed to appear in court for the murder of James Kinne, leading to a capias warrant for her arrest issued by Jackson County.
At a news conference Thursday, Sgt. Dustin Love with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said Kinne’s case provides insight into how far the justice system has come in 60 years.
He said if a similar case were to happen today, it’s unlikely a suspect of two murders would be released on bond.
“I would love nothing more than to have one day, to sit across the table from her,” Love said. “I would like to pick her brain on something. And I’m sure that there are numerous law enforcement officers throughout the nation who would love to talk to her.”
Prison escape, decades-long search
On December 7, 1969, Kinne escaped from the Mexican prison where she was being held. Despite a wide search, the case eventually went cold.
Working with California law enforcement agencies, investigators learned that in February 1970, Kinne married James Glabus in Los Angeles. But other leads turned up empty.
Kinne was the subject of one of the longest outstanding warrants for murder in the Kansas City area and one of the longest outstanding felony warrants in U.S. history, KCPD said in a statement.
“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t catch her when she was alive… she hid really well,” Love said.
In December 2023, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and KCPD both received an anonymous tip about Kinne, who appeared to live in Alberta, Canada, under the name Diedra Glabus, and had died in January 2022.
Investigators said they determined Kinne and Glabus were the same person through countless hours of investigation, forensic genealogy, and fingerprint analysis.
KCPD Intelligence Analyst Darrin Lee made family contacts and worked to fill gaps in the timeline of Kinne’s crimes.
Love said that part of what led to authorities being able to identify Kinne was a record of fingerprints taken from her body when she died. In Canada, getting fingerprints of the deceased is a common practice, Love said.
In an unexpected turn of luck, Love said, the company that took Kinne’s fingerprints is headquartered in Jackson County.
“We just really lucked out that those fingerprints were taken and… that the data is stored at that company’s headquarters in Lee’s Summit, Missouri,” Love said. “So it did make its way back home, 64 years later.”
At Thursday’s press conference, law enforcement officials stressed the importance of the public submitting anonymous tips when they have any information on a case.
“Without this vital tip, this case would have remained unsolved… without the whereabouts of one of the most elusive serial killers ever being known,” said Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Ronda Montgomery.
Montgomery said Kinne went by several different aliases, some of which are still unknown by law enforcement. In working with Canadian authorities, Jackson County law enforcement was informed she was also married several times.
“Over the years, Sharon Kinne’s criminal activities have been the subject of numerous articles; there’s books, there’s podcasts,” Montgomery said. “We hope that bringing closure to this case today can provide a sense of resolution, not only for the friends and family of the innocent victims she murdered, but also those loved ones that were affected by her actions.”
Kinne is considered a serial killer because she killed two or more people, Montgomery said. Authorities know of her two killings in Jackson County and one in Mexico. It’s unknown whether she killed more people.
Family seeks healing
Montgomery asked the public to respect the privacy of Kinne’s living relatives, who told investigators they want to move on from the tragic case that affected so many lives.
The Kinne family provided a statement that Montgomery read Thursday:
“On behalf of the Kinne family, we would like to state how happy we are that this chapter in our family history can be closed. Sharon was a woman that never faced the consequences of her actions, leaving them for her children to deal with. She caused great harm without thought or remorse. Hopefully, this closure will allow the family a chance to heal from her traumatic legacy.”
While Kinne’s disappearance drew worldwide attention, law enforcement said her whereabouts from 1969 to 1979 remain a mystery.
Investigators welcome any information the public may have. People can remain anonymous and contact the KCPD, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
