Father charged in deaths of 2 Missouri children

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The father of two children whose remains were found in a shallow grave more three years after they disappeared was charged Tuesday in their deaths.

Dan Porter, 44, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his children, Sam, 7, and Lindsey, 8.

The children's bones were found in September in a wooded area near the Missouri River in nearby Sugar Creek and were identified using dental records. Sam and Lindsey had been missing since Porter picked them up at their mother's house for a weekend visit in the summer of 2004.

According to the probable cause statement filed with the charges, Porter told investigators that he had planned to kill his children before he picked them up for the visit.

Porter was convicted in February 2006 of parental kidnapping with the intent to terrorize his ex-wife, Tina Porter. He is serving a 38-year sentence in prison in the children's disappearance.

After his arrest on the kidnapping charges, Porter told authorities several stories about what he had done with his children, including that he had cut them up and that he had strangled them.

The area where the children's remains were found is where Dan and Tina Porter met on the day he took the children. Police said Dan Porter had asked Tina Porter to meet him near the area so they could exchange vehicles.

Tina Porter, 44, of Independence, has said that when she met Dan Porter, the children weren't with him. She said Dan Porter tried to get her to drive her pickup into the woods by telling her that he had stashed $50,000 there and wanted to get it. She refused.