Mound City News article

The following is a press release from Holt County Sheriff Steve Portman:

On September 27, 1985, during the early morning hours in Holt County, the murder of Peggy J. Horseman (age 27) occurred at the King Oil Station in Mound City, Missouri. The victim (Peggy J. Horseman) was the night store clerk and had been found shot to death. Investigators at the time followed leads, but the leads turned up nothing and it became an unsolved cold case.

In November of 2022, investigator Captain Terry Horner was hired by Sheriff Portman to investigate the Horseman murder and other cold cases. Sheriff Portman and the Holt County Sheriff’s Office are pleased to announce that almost 39 years after the untimely and brutal murder of Peggy Horseman, the Holt County Prosecuting Attorney has filed a charge of Murder in the 1st Degree against Kirby G. David, who is currently incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC). David, who was born in 1962, is a resident of Oregon, Missouri. He started serving 20 years in the Missouri DOC on March 17, 2020, after pleading guilty to a felony charge of Distribution Of A Controlled Substance In A Protected Location.

Sheriff Portman greatly appreciates the hours of hard work and dedication by Captain T. Horner and the help/support of Holt County Sheriff’s Office deputies and staff members. There has been a lot of evidence that has been obtained from countless hours of interviewing witnesses as Captain Horner pursued leads.

The above charge is a mere accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

The King Oil Station was located in a spot off of Interstate 29 that was not easily seen from the road, and inoperable surveillance equipment at the store made the investigation more difficult. Horseman had spoken with her employer, Mrs. Alexis Whitham, around 3:30 a.m. Her body was found a short time later by an area motorist. Horseman had been shot in the back of the head at close range by a blast from a 16 guage shotgun. The ejected shell casing was found on the floor during the investigation.