Left inset: James Larson (Missouri Department Of Corrections). Center inset: Penny Larson (Clinton County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Dustin Carver (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation). Background: The area near 11291 US Highway 412 ALT in Kansas, Okla., where Dustin Carver was allegedly killed and burned by James Larson and Penny Larson in 2014 (Google Maps).
A Missouri man allegedly bragged to his prison cellmate about how he and his wife got away with murder in Oklahoma, telling the inmate he “tortured” a man who he thought “raped” her, then “slit his throat” and “put him in a burn pile” after the spouse egged him on, cops say.
“I want him gone,” Penny Larson, 40, allegedly told her husband James Larson, 41, before he killed Dustin Carver in Delaware County, Oklahoma, at their trailer in 2014, according to an arrest affidavit filed last week ahead of the couple’s booking on murder charges.
“I want him dealt with,” Penny Larson allegedly said.
A friend of the couple’s was staying with them at the time and overheard them talking about what to do with Carver, who denied the rape accusation, after they “confronted” him about the alleged sexual assault, the affidavit says. The pal told police he was getting ready to take his mother to work and Carver “was alive” when he left that day at around 4:30 a.m., cops allege.
When the friend returned three hours later, James Larson was sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette and Penny Larson was inside the kitchen of the trailer “cleaning up a large amount of blood from the floor,” the affidavit says.
“James told [the friend] to follow him that James wanted to show [the friend] something,” police allege. “They reached a small clearing and [the friend] observed the body of Carver atop a large pile of wood. [The friend] was able to positively identify the body as Carver because [the friend] went to school with Carver and knew that Carver had a tattoo on his right forearm.”
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As the pair walked up on the body, the friend allegedly saw a “knife sticking out of Carver’s chest on the upper right side,” per the affidavit. Carver’s “personal belongings” were allegedly being burned in a “burn barrel” nearby, the friend said.
“James threatened [the friend] that if [the friend] told anyone that [the friend] would suffer the same fate as Carver,” the affidavit says.
Police were called by James Larson’s pal and search warrants were executed at the trailer and property where Carver was allegedly killed.
“There were numerous human bone fragments and teeth located to include a human clavicle bone of a male approximately 18-22 years of age,” the affidavit says. “OSBI Agents processed the trailer houses on the property and discovered several locations of blood with chemical processing.”
Despite the evidence, Delaware County prosecutors did not file charges at the time on account of the remains not being positively identified as Carver. “As of this date, the remains have not been successfully identified due to the amount of damage caused to them by the fire,” the affidavit says.
Thinking he had gotten away scot-free, James Larson — who is currently serving a 14-year sentence in Missouri on theft and drug charges — allegedly chose to talk openly about evading charges and what happened to Carver with his cellmate, who came forward in July, according to the affidavit.
“[James] stated that the police came to his property to look for Carver’s remains,” the inmate allegedly told authorities. “James showed [the cellmate] the missing person listing from Oklahoma for Carver.”
Police say the cellmate knew James Larson personally, as the cellmate was engaged to marry his wife Penny Larson before being locked up, per the affidavit. The two men were “previously incarcerated” at the Missouri State Penitentiary for an extended period of time in the same cell, but it’s unclear when exactly.
“During the time incarcerated, [the cellmate] and James talked about various things,” the affidavit says. “James told [the cellmate] about a guy James killed in Oklahoma. James said he tortured the guy, slit his throat and put him in a burn pile.”
Penny Larson was taken into custody last week in Missouri and charged with first-degree murder, while James Larson was charged behind bars. The couple was booked in Delaware County, per records. Penny Larson is being held without bond.
