Detective: Patton teen confessed that murder of guardian was planned

The teenager accused of killing his guardian Tuesday in Patton waited to ambush her as she came home from work, police said today.

John W. Wilfong, a 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing his guardian last night in her Patton, Mo., home, was charged this afternoon with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Wilfong planned the murder earlier on Tuesday while his guardian, Pamela Ackman, 48, was still at work, according to a probable cause statement written and signed by Cape Girardeau detective Don Perry.

When she returned, Wilfong had a 9-year-old who lived in the home watch from his bedroom window for Ackman's vehicle to pull into the driveway, the statement said.

Wilfong had already taken a .22-caliber rifle from the family's gun cabinet in preparation for the murder, he told police.

He had removed the scope of the weapon because he knew it wasn't accurate, and he waited in the living room for Ackman to walk in, the statement said.

When she walked into the kitchen, Wilfong allegedly shot her twice, in the head and neck area, once after she'd already fallen.

He and the juvenile then fled the scene in Ackman's gold Yukon, which they later ditched at a city park in Marble Hill, the gun still locked inside.

Wilfong and the juvenile were picked up this morning at the residence of a family friend.

Wilfong is held at the Bollinger County Jail.

Contrary to previous reporting, Wilfong was not a foster child of Ackman, according to Brian Hauswirth, a spokesman with the Missouri Department of Social Services. Wilfong was not in state custody, therefore he didn't have a foster parent, said Hauswirth. He said the department is cooperating with investigators.

However, Ackman was a licensed foster mother in Missouri, Hauswirth said, but Wilfong wasn't in the state's custody.

Ackman and her husband Mickey were granted guardianship of Wilfong in November 2003. The Ackmans applied for guardianship of Wilfong in 2003, under protest by his natural mother.

In 2002, Wilfong's father, Henry J. Wilfong, was charged with first degree murder in Wayne County, Mo., and is currently held at Fulton State Hospital after the court found him mentally incapable of standing trial.

Ackman's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Liley Funeral Home in Patton.

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