One plea reached in Willard double-murder case

Plumb to receive eight years, under agreement, for involvement in slayings
 
Matthew Plumb, one of four people charged in connection with the murder of Willard’s Alexander Chute and Brianna Sproul, will receive eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense and tampering with evidence in a felony.
The plea agreement was reached between Assistant Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Harrel and Christopher Hatley, Plumb’s attorney, on Tuesday, Aug. 23. According to the plea agreement, in return for his guilty plea, Plumb, 44, received five years on the conspiracy charge, for which he must serve at least 85-percent of the sentence, and three years for the tampering charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively. He also agreed to testify against co-defendants Duncan Bogle and Theresa Cox. In return, two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action, some of the charges Plumb was originally facing, were dismissed.

Plumb helped plan murders
The Commonwealth previously reported that Plumb helped Cox to allegedly plan the murders and also admitted to disposing of the murder weapon by throwing it into a creek. Plumb also admitted to calming down Bogle, the alleged triggerman in the murders and driving him home, as well as being present at the Springfield Pizza Hut where both he and Cox formerly worked in order to give Cox and Bogle an alibi.
As of press time, Plumb remained in the Greene County Jail, where he’d been held since Dec. 1, 2020. He will be formally sentenced on Friday, Dec. 9.

Other defendants still jailed
Cox, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and two counts of armed criminal action in the case, while Bogle, 22, her “significant partner,” is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and second-degree child endangerment. Therin Plumb, Matthew Plumb’s biological son, 20, is charged with tampering with physical evidence.
Chute and Sproul were a Willard couple who were found dead at their residence in the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. A then four-year-old girl, Chute and Cox’s biological daughter, was found at the scene and turned over to social services.

Cox, Bogle fled state
Cox and Bogle left Springfield but were apprehended in San Francisco on Dec. 8, 2020. Cox was extradited to Springfield on Jan. 4, 2021; Bogle was extradited a week later.
Cox is due in court on Monday, Oct. 24, for a jury trial, while Bogle’s trial is scheduled to take place on Monday, Oct. 31. As of press time, they both remained in the Greene County Jail.
Therin Plumb, who allegedly told investigators he took the murder weapon from Cox’s vehicle and put it in his father’s car, and who was also allegedly present when his father attempted to dispose of the murder weapon (it was later recovered), is free on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Nov. 21, for a disposition hearing.