Devlin pleads guilty of kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) -- Michael Devlin pleaded guilty Tuesday to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder young Shawn Hornbeck in 2002 -- the second in a series of expected guilty pleas that will land Devlin in prison for life.

Devlin pleaded guilty to six counts, accepting the maximum sentence of three life terms in prison plus 60 years.

Devlin's plea in Washington County comes one day after a similar plea in Franklin County, where Devlin accepted a life sentence for kidnapping William "Ben" Ownby. Prosecutors say the coordinated plea deals will put Devlin behind bars for life for the abduction and sexual abuse of the two boys held captive in his apartment.

During Tuesday's hearing, Devlin -- standing just feet away from Shawn's weeping parents -- admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002. He described the point in which Shawn apprently turned from being an abduction victim to a captive forced to stay alive by following Devlin's horrific orders.

After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the then-11-year-old to his apartment in suburban St. Louis where he repeatedly sexually assaulted the boy. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing the boy.

He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him. Shawn resisted.

"I attempted to kill (Shawn) and he talked me out of it," Devlin said.

Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors say it was at that point that Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him in order to stay alive.

"This boy made this contract, this deal with the devil, only to survive," Washington County prosecutor John Rupp said.

Shawn's parents, Craig and Pam Akers, declined comment after the hearing.

The sentences Devlin has received so far mean he will not be eligible for parole until he is over 100 years old.

Rupp said he was satisfied with the sentences. "You heard it from his own mouth. You've heard what kind of a monster he is."

Later Tuesday, Devlin was expected to plead guilty in St. Louis County to 71 felony charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault of Shawn and Ben Ownby.

On Monday, Devlin's attorneys said he accepted a plea deal in Franklin County after reviewing the massive body of evidence collected by state and federal authorities. The boys' families said they were relieved because the pleas will spare the teens from testifying and publicly reliving the case.

"Nothing good could have come from a trial," said defense attorney Michael Kielty. "The evidence ... is just absolutely overwhelming."

This week's court hearings bring a relatively swift end to the case that Kielty and his partner, Ethan Corlija, said previously they were ready to take to trial.

During Monday's hearing in Franklin County, Ben's parents, Don and Doris Ownby, sat silently behind Devlin as Circuit Court Judge Stanley Williams sentenced Devlin to life for kidnapping and 20 years for armed criminal action.

Don Ownby stared stoically and silently at Devlin during the hearing, while Doris Ownby nervously clenched her fists. Devlin did not apologize to the family or to Ben.

"I have no feelings for that person," Don Ownby said afterward, adding that his son had returned to the life he knew before the abduction and chose not to attend the hearing.

"We're just glad that it's over," Doris added, before the family left the courthouse.

Franklin County prosecutor Robert Parks laid out evidence that provided the first glimpse of Devlin as a calculating predator who hunted boys in small towns about an hour's drive from St. Louis. He told of how Devlin abducted Ben just minutes after the boy stepped off his school bus -- only about 500 feet from his family's rural home in the town of Beaufort.

At the time, Devlin was a manager at Imo's Pizza in downtown Kirkwood. He was living in a cramped apartment with Shawn, now a teenager whom Devlin had passed off as his son since 2002.

By late 2006, Devlin "wanted a boy," Parks said. Devlin began to troll rural highways, following school buses and watching children walk off.

Devlin spotted Ben in early January and decided to take him in part because Ben got off the school bus alone, Parks said. Devlin stalked Ben for days, driving down the Ownbys' wooded subdivision to get familiar with the area.

On Jan. 8, Devlin packed a 9 mm pistol, a roll of duct tape and a hooded sweat shirt in his white Nissan pickup truck. He parked near Ben's bus stop and watched the boy get dropped off.

Devlin drove slowly down the gravel road toward Ben's home, and the boy stepped to the side of the road as the truck approached, Parks said.

Devlin stopped and opened the driver's side door. He asked Ben if he knew where a certain family lived. Ben said he didn't know, and appeared nervous. Devlin said he was worried Ben would run away, so he stepped out of the truck and showed Ben the gun he carried. He put his hand on Ben's shoulder and ordered him into the truck.

Ben kept asking why, as Devlin forced him inside and forced him to hunker down out of view, Parks said.

"The defendant said, 'Just because,"' Parks said.

Parks and Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke refused several times to say whether Shawn was in the truck at the time.

Ben's classmate Mitchell Hults spotted Devlin's truck as it sped away. Hults lives near Ben and got off the bus at the same time that day, although he did not walk down the road with Ben. Hults' description of the truck led authorities to Devlin's apartment four days later.

Devlin initially pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. Corlija, Devlin's other attorney, said months ago Devlin would not accept any plea deal with multiple and consecutive life sentences because that would be the worst penalty he could get if the case went to trial.

Kielty and Corlija had struck a defiant tone in recent months, repeatedly saying there was another side to the story that Devlin was eager to tell.

While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify suspected victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are well known.