(*WARNING* This is an extremely graphic and upsetting report report.)
A Platte City man has been charged with the murder of a woman in May 2011 and the assault of another woman on December 26, 2011. Quintin P. O’Dell, 22, is accused of murdering Alissa F. Shippert near the Platte River and assaulting another woman in Ferrelview the day after Christmas.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said his office filed charges the evening of January 6, following an extensive investigation by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department.
“The Sheriff’s Department worked tirelessly for more than seven months to solve AlissaShippert’s murder," Zahnd said in a statement. "The day after Christmas, they began investigating another very serious assault. Because of their hard work on these cases, we have now charged the man we allege is responsible for both crimes.”
According to court documents, on May 31, 2011, O’Dell allegedly murdered Shippert near a boat ramp at the Platte Falls Conservation area.
O’Dell was a co-worker of Shippert’s. O’Dell told Sheriff’s deputies during an interview conducted on January 5 and 6 that he allegedly went to see her as she fished along the Platte River.
O’Dell told investigators he got into a confrontation with Shippert after she believed he had drowned while swimming in the river. Authorities allege O’Dell then struck Shippert in the back of the head with a hatchet.
Shippert collapsed to the ground crying, and O’Dell allegedly got on his knees beside her and repeatedly struck her in the face with the hatchet until she was no longer crying or breathing. O’Dell then allegedly pulled Shippert’s body into the river.
O’Dell told detectives he left the scene by floating back to Platte City in the Platte River, returned to home, took a shower, and went to sleep.
On December 26, 2011, O’Dell allegedly went to the apartment of a 21-year-old woman in Ferrelview. On December 26, O’Dell told investigators he left the apartment while she was alive.
During a later interview with deputies, O’Dell allegedly told investigators that, while he was at the woman’s apartment on December 26, he overheard a telephone call in which the woman argued with a recent boyfriend. O’Dell allegedly became enraged as a result of the argument between the woman and her boyfriend, grabbed a razor blade from the counter of the woman’s kitchen, and cut open Costello’s abdomen.
Court documents indicate O’Dell told deputies he recalled seeing the woman’s intestines fall out of her abdomen on the living room floor. He then allegedly walked out the apartment, went home, and woke up the next morning to find dried blood on his hands and red shirt. O’Dell allegedly threw away the shirt.
Platte County Sheriff Richard Anderson said, “Through dogged police work, our detectives were able to connect these two cases. Alissa Shippert’s murder remained front and center in the minds of the community, and it remained and will continue to remain on the front burner for our department until we finally bring the killer justice.”
O’Dell has been charged with First Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action for the killing of Shippert. He has been charged with First Degree Assault and Armed Criminal Action for the December 26 incident.
First Degree Murder carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors could also seek the death penalty against O’Dell. Zahnd said he would review the case to determine whether the State would seek the death penalty.
O’Dell is being held in the Platte County Jail in lieu of a $750,000 cash bond.
The case is being investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, which has been assisted by the Platte City Police Department, the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, Missouri Department of Conservation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, Heart of America Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, and Missouri Western University Police Academy. The prosecution team includes Zahnd, First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gibson, and Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Justin Kalwei, Myles Perry, and Chris Seufert.
The charges against O’Dell are merely accusations, and O’Dell is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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