The suspect in the 2008 disappearance of an elderly Lemoore man has confessed to the killing and led Kings County sheriff's investigators to the body, buried behind Farmersville High School.
As part of an agreement that will allow him to avoid the death penalty, Ricky McConnaughy, 40, of Lemoore, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2009, to second-degree murder in the death of 65-year-old Robert Lee Adams, Kings County Sheriff Chris Jordan said Tuesday.
Adams was reported missing to the Sheriff's Office on Aug. 17, 2008. McConnaughy was found by Dinuba police the next day driving Adams' missing 1992 Chevrolet pickup. He also was found with Adams' cell phone and one of his credit cards.
McConnaughy confessed to the killing on Oct. 1, 2009, in a meeting with sheriff's detectives and prosecutors, and told detectives where they could find Adams' remains.
He faces a sentence of 15 years to life, sheriff's investigators said.
McConnaughy struck and killed Adams with his fist at the victim's home, Jordan said. "I believe it was a robbery that turned into a murder case," Jordan said.
The two men knew each other, because Adams had hired McConnaughy to do small jobs around his home, Jordan said.
Investigators retrieved Adams' remains in a bag from a site known as the Farmersville River behind Farmersville High School, Jordan said.
As part of the plea deal, the Sheriff's Office agreed not to announce the confession or the body's discovery until after McConnaughy's young daughter -- Jordan said she is about 10 -- celebrated her birthday about a week ago.
At the time of his arrest, McConnaughy already was wanted by Exeter police on suspicion of kidnapping and beating his ex-girlfriend the day before. He pleaded guilty in the kidnapping case and received a sentence of 12 years and four months in prison.
The mystery of Adams' disappearance began Aug. 15, 2008, when his daughter, Ann Stockton of Laton, went to see him at his trailer outside Armona. Adams, a retired well digger, wasn't there, so she called his cell phone, got no answer, then left a note. She reported her father missing, initially with Hanford police and then with the Sheriff's Office.
McConnaughy was arrested in Dinuba after a police officer tried to pull him over for a missing license plate tag and he sped off, eventually crashing the truck in a vineyard.
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