‘Fugitive serial killer’ wanted for Missouri, Mexico murders lived in Alberta for decades

A woman wanted for murders in Missouri and Mexico dating back to 1960 was likely living in Southern Alberta for nearly 50 years, according to investigators in the U.S.

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department (KCPD) and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) announced Thursday they have closed their investigation into “fugitive serial killer” Sharon Kinne after learning she died three years ago in Taber, Alta.

According to a timeline of events provided by the KCPD, Kinne told police in March 1960 that her two-year-old daughter accidentally shot her husband James Kinne in the head inside their home.

James was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after.

Two months later, a man who had an affair with Kinne reported his wife Patricia Jones missing to police. The man, Walter Jones, reportedly ended the affair with Kinne after she claimed to be pregnant.

Police allege Kinne showed a former lover the body of Patricia Jones, who had been shot four times.

Kinne was eventually arrested and charged with killing Patricia Jones and James Kinne on May 31, 1960. She was found not guilty for the murder of Jones, but was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for killing her husband in January 1962.

The Missouri Supreme Court ended up reversing the conviction just over a year later and granted Kinne a new trial. She was released on a $25,000 bond.

Kinne would eventually flee to Mexico City with a new boyfriend in September 1964 and was arrested for murder soon after for allegedly shooting a man in a hotel room.

The KCPD were able to link the gun used in the Mexico hotel room shooting to the killing of Patricia Jones.

Kinne was convicted of murder in Mexico and sentenced to 13 years in prison. A warrant was issued for her arrest by JSCO after she missed her court appearances for the new trial for the killing of her husband James.

In December 1969, Kinne escaped from the Mexico prison and was not found again.

Kinne settles in Southern Alberta under new name

KPCD and JCSO each got anonymous tips about Kinne in December 2023 that suggested she had been living in Taber, Alta. under the name Diedra Glabus.

Glabus died of natural causes in January 2022.

Through forensic genealogy and fingerprint analysis, investigators were able to confirm that Kinne and Glabus were the same person on May 31, 2024 — exactly 64 years after her first arrest.

Investigators have since learned that Sharon Kinne married James Glabus in Los Angeles in 1970.

An obituary for James Glabus confirms he died in Taber in 1979 at the age of 38 and newspaper clippings suggest he was introduced as a new board member for the Taber Chamber of Commerce in 1977.

Police say her exact whereabouts from 1969 to 1979 remain a mystery.

“Sharon was a woman that never faced the consequences of her actions, leaving them for her children to deal with,” reads a statement from a spokesperson for the Kinne family. “She caused great harm without thought or remorse.”

“Hopefully, this closure will allow the family a chance to heal from her traumatic legacy.”

The closing of the file ends one of the longest outstanding felony warrants in American history, according to KCPD.