Bench trial set for last person accused of Aurora woman’s death

OZARK, Mo. — The last of nine people accused in the death of a woman forced into a Lawrence County well before being killed in 2020 will have a bench trial in October 2024.

Steven Chase Calverley is charged with first-degree murder, assault, robbery, kidnapping and four counts of armed criminal action in connection with the death of 27-year-old Sarah Pasco in August 2020.

Calverley appeared in court April 18 and waived his jury trial. His bench trial is scheduled for five days starting Oct. 21, 2024.

Eight other defendants in the case have already been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 40 years.

Prosecutors say Pasco was one of two women forced to get in a well where they were shot. Pasco was shot in the head and died instantly. The other woman, who was also shot, hid under Pasco’s body and played dead until the man who shot her and another suspect left.

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