Authorities say dental records identified the remains as Ceasar Asbury, who had been reported as a possible runaway.

HOUSTON, Mo. — A Texas County couple faces second-degree murder charges after investigators found the skeletal remains of their teenage son in a shallow grave at their rural Missouri home, authorities said.

Chaun Asbury, 42, and Tamla Asbury, 45, are accused in the death of Ceasar Asbury and in the alleged abuse of other children found at the Lundy Road property in the Bucyrus area. The case moved from a missing person and child abuse investigation to a murder case after the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the remains through dental comparison. Both defendants are being held in the Texas County Jail without bond.

The charges announced in May came nearly two months after deputies served a search warrant March 10 at the Asbury residence. The warrant was tied to a missing person investigation, according to the Texas County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said Chaun Asbury tried to flee as law enforcement approached, and Tamla Asbury came out of the residence and was detained. Inside and around the property, deputies found three juveniles, signs of what they described as unsafe living conditions and a shallow grave that later became central to the case.

Sheriff Scott Lindsey said the remains were confirmed as those of Ceasar Asbury, who authorities said had earlier been reported by the suspects as a possible runaway. The sheriff said the discovery and the condition of the surviving children made the case stand out even after nearly three decades in law enforcement. “This is absolutely the worst case of child abuse and neglect that I have encountered in my 28 plus years of law enforcement,” Lindsey said. He called the death and the effect on the other children a horrible tragedy.

The new case includes one count each of second-degree murder, abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death and abandonment of a corpse. Prosecutors also filed three counts of first-degree domestic assault and eight counts of abuse or neglect of a child against each defendant. Court reporting on the indictment said Ceasar died on or about May 25, 2022, as a result of child abuse or neglect. The abandonment count covers the period from that date until the March 10 search, when deputies found the remains on the property.

Deputies said the search also exposed severe conditions for children who were still alive. One juvenile was found locked in a shed with no utilities, bound to a bed and severely malnourished, according to the sheriff’s office. That child needed urgent medical care. Investigators said the home had no utilities or sewer service and that deputies found evidence of physical abuse and unnecessary physical restraint. Chief Deputy Rowdy Douglas later said the children were malnourished, dirty and extremely scared when officers got them out of the home.

Douglas said hospital staff told investigators that the youngest child may have been close to dying. That account added urgency to the case and helped explain why the first charges filed in March focused on child abuse. At first, Chaun and Tamla Asbury each faced five counts of child abuse and were held on cash-only bonds. The later identification of Ceasar’s remains changed the legal picture. Prosecutors presented the death evidence to a grand jury and added the murder, death-related neglect and corpse abandonment charges.

The surviving children were placed in protective custody with help from Missouri child welfare officials. Public reports on the indictment describe alleged abuse involving children who are now 16, 14, 12, 8 and 6 years old. Some counts allege physical injury. Others allege serious emotional injury tied to lack of nutrition, housing, emotional development and support. The charging periods for the surviving children run mainly from November 2023 to March 2026, though the death-related counts reach back to May 2022.

The case unfolded in a rural part of Texas County, about 90 miles east of Springfield. The Lundy Road property became the focus of the investigation after authorities reviewed the missing person report and obtained a warrant. The Texas County Coroner responded after remains were found, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control assisted in the recovery. The sheriff’s office has not publicly released a final cause of death beyond the charging language alleging death from abuse or neglect.

Several facts remain unsettled in public records. Authorities have not said when Ceasar was last seen alive outside the home, who filed the missing person report, or what evidence first led deputies to search the property. The sheriff’s office has said only that the teen had been reported as a possible runaway by the suspects. Officials also have not released detailed medical findings about the surviving children. The defendants have not been convicted, and the charges remain accusations that prosecutors must prove in court. The next steps are expected to move through Texas County Circuit Court, where prosecutors must present evidence supporting the indictment. Local court reporting listed May 12 arraignment appearances after the new charges were filed. Both defendants remained jailed on no-bond warrants issued by a judge. The case now turns on forensic evidence, witness statements, child welfare records and the timeline prosecutors say connects Ceasar’s death in 2022 to the grave found in 2026.

For investigators, the March search began with a missing person case and ended with surviving children removed from the home, a body recovered from the property and a wider review of years of alleged abuse. As of May 28, 2026, Chaun and Tamla Asbury remained in custody while the prosecution moved forward in Texas County.

Author note: Last updated May 28, 2026.