Kidnapper Held Boy Captive With Threats
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
KIRKWOOD, Mo. — The man who allegedly held an abducted boy hostage for more than four years prevented him from fleeing by threatening to kill both him and his entire family, investigators have indicated. It was the first clue as to why Shawn Hornbeck, 15, stayed with Michael Devlin, the man suspected of kidnapping him in 2002, and never made any attempt to escape despite ample opportunity.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, investigators think that the teenager had been terrorized into believing that Mr. Devlin would carry out threats of violence, and this had stopped him from seeking help.
The report echoes comments made by the boy’s stepfather over the weekend that Shawn was “threatened with his life” and held hostage by fear.
Shawn was apparently free to roam around on his bike, stay at friends’ houses, and had access to both the Internet and a mobile phone throughout his captivity.
Neighbors have reported hearing loud noises and swearing coming from Mr. Devlin’s ground-floor brick apartment in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, Mo.
Mr. Devlin, 41, was arrested on Friday after police became suspicious that he could be involved in the kidnapping of another Missouri boy, William “Ben” Ownby, 13, who disappeared last week on his way home from school in Beaufort, 50 miles west of Kirkwood.
Officers recognized Mr. Devlin’s white truck from a description given by a friend of Ben. At the home of the pizza parlor manager, police found not only Ben but also Shawn.
Shawn was kidnapped in October 2002 while riding his bike near his home in Richwoods, also about 50 miles from Kirkwood.
Mr. Devlin has so far been charged only with Ben’s kidnapping. His lawyer, Michael Kielty, said Mr. Devlin would enter a not guilty plea when he appears in court tomorrow. Further charges in relation to Shawn are expected.
Yesterday, Ben gave his first interview, on “The Today Show.” The smiling teenager said he felt “great relief” when reunited with his family and was ready to go back to school.
The boy also praised Mitchell Hults, the friend who gave police a detailed description of Mr. Devlin’s white truck.
