The disappearance of 31-year-old Javon Donahue from Knob Noster, Missouri in April 2017 led investigators to a rural Warrensburg farm where his body was found buried after a search-warrant excavation. Authorities determined Javon had been shot to death; he had been killed with a .22-caliber pistol and sustained four gunshot wounds to his back, the back of his head, and his mouth.

Detectives focused on Javon’s estranged wife, Jema Donahue, who admitted to shooting him on April 14, 2017 in a basement bedroom of the home she shared with her parents in Knob Noster. Court records say Jema claimed she acted in self-defense and cited prior domestic abuse and active protection orders filed by her and her mother against Javon. Jema’s mother, Margaret Heffernan, and family friend Ricky Armstrong were implicated in removing Javon’s body, transporting it to the farm, and burying it; both faced charges for tampering with evidence and abandoning a corpse.

A jury rejected Jema’s self-defense claim as a complete defense; she was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, felony murder, unlawful use of a weapon, tampering with evidence, and abandonment of a corpse and received a ten-year sentence. Heffernan and Armstrong pleaded guilty to tampering and concealing a felony and received supervised probation.

If anyone knew Javon, his movements in early April 2017, or has information about the events at the Knob Noster residence, please share what is known.