Ancona to testify against son in murder trial

By Kevin Jenkins | October 28, 2017 |

Malissa Ancona, the Leadwood woman charged with the murder of her late husband, Frank Ancona, was agreed to testify against her son, Paul Jinkerson, who is also charged in the Feb. 9 murder.

St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney Jerrod Mahurin said anytime a witness is “endorsed” under similar circumstances, the prosecution does so with the expectation that the witness will be cooperative in providing testimony.

Mahurin said that during a hearing Friday morning Jinkerson’s defense attorney requested a continuance in the case due to the fact that Malissa Ancona would be testifying, which has not been ruled on yet by Judge Wendy Wexler-Horn. The defense also requested a deposition of Ancona, which Mahurin said his office is prepared to handle.

A hearing on Jinkerson’s case is scheduled for Nov. 17, with his trial scheduled to begin Dec. 4.

Ancona, 44, the victim’s wife, was charged with first degree murder, felony armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

Jinkerson, 24, was the victim’s stepson and was charged with murder in the first degree, felony armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

According to a probable cause statement, the murder occurred on Feb. 9 at 1124 Mill St. in Leadwood. Frank Ancona was shot and killed inside a bedroom of his home and then was put into Jinkerson’s vehicle. Frank Ancona’s body and his car were taken to Washington County and dumped in separate locations.

Frank Ancona was reported missing after his employer reached out to the Leadwood Police Department with concerns of his whereabouts. The employer reported Ancona had not shown up for work that Wednesday or Thursday, which was out of character for him.

The car was seen parked in the Mark Twain National Forest on a forest service road on Feb. 9, but at that time Ancona had not yet been reported missing. Later, when he was reported missing, the forest service worker who had seen the car earlier notified authorities of where the car had been parked and officers returned to that location and found it..

Frank Ancona’s body was found in the Belgrade area on the banks of the Big River off Route C on Feb. 11 by a family out for a fishing trip.

A search warrant was served at the Ancona home on Feb. 11, which revealed extensive blood evidence in the master bedroom. Malissa Ancona was at the home prior to and during the service of the search warrant.

An investigator reported that she admitted to him in a recorded interview that her biological son, Jinkerson Jr., shot and killed Frank Ancona while he was asleep.

Malissa Ancona also admitted that she failed to report the crime and, additionally, attempted to destroy evidence and altered the crime scene in an attempt to conceal what had happened. It was said that she was “acting in concert” with her son.

Malissa Ancona was taken into custody for questioning after the search warrant was served. She was later released but picked up a second time on a 20-hour hold for investigation.

An autopsy confirmed Frank Ancona, the self-proclaimed Imperial Wizard of a group with close ties to the KKK, died as a result of a gunshot to the head.