Quincy Teen Pleads Guilty In Murder Of Elderly Farm Couple Boy Is 2nd Of 4 Arrested To Strike Deal; Prosecutor To Seek 20-1/2-Year Sentence

A Quincy boy on Friday became the second of four teenage co-defendants to plead guilty in the shooting deaths of an elderly farm couple.

Marcus “David” Wawers pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to two counts of second-degree murder, Prosecutor John Knodell said. He earlier had been charged with two counts of complicity to commit aggravated first-degree murder.

The 15-year-old entered the plea after consenting under the terms of a plea agreement to have his case handled in adult court, Knodell said.

Wawers previously had been scheduled to appear in court Tuesday with two 15-year-old co-defendants to determine whether they would be tried as adults.

Judge Evan Sperline scheduled a sentencing date of Sept. 5.

Knodell said he would recommend a 20-1/2-year prison sentence, at the low end of the recommended sentencing range. The maximum recommended sentence is more than 27 years.

Wawers was the second defendant in five days to plead guilty in the May 21 slayings of Homer and Vada Smithson.

Adam Betancourt, who had originally been charged with aggravated first-degree murder, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree murder, sparing himself a possible life prison sentence without parole.

Because Betancourt is 16, his case was automatically remanded to adult court.

As part of their plea agreements, Wawers and Betancourt have agreed to testify against co-defendants Melanie S. Hinkle and Donald E. Lambert, both of Quincy, Knodell said.

“That will increase the chance of a plea agreement with the two others,” Knodell said.

Hinkle and Lambert are each being held in juvenile detention in lieu of $1 million bail pending Tuesday’s hearing.

Hinkle is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. Lambert faces two counts of aggravated first-degree murder.

The Smithsons, 89-year-old Homer and 88-year-old Vada, apparently were shot as part of a scheme to steal guns from their home and shoot up the home of an unidentified police officer, authorities have said.

Wawers lived in a trailer less than a half-mile from the Smithsons. He let the others into the Smithson home the night of the slaying and acted as a lookout, Knodell said.

Authorities believe Betancourt and Lambert fired the shots that killed the Smithsons, and Hinkle helped plan the slayings, Knodell said. The teens apparently were motivated in part by a grudge against Homer Smithson over some past employment, Knodell said.