Kidnapper who held boy for four years pleads guilty

Oct 9, 2007, 18:33 GMT

Washington - A former pizza delivery man who kidnapped two boys and held one of them captive for more than four years entered a series of guilty pleas and will spend the rest of his life in prison, local media reported Tuesday.

Michael Devlin, 41, pleaded guilty Tuesday to kidnapping and sexually abusing Shawn Hornbeck, now 15, whom he kept captive in his apartment near Saint Louis for more than four years. Devlin received three life terms and 60 additional years in prison in that case, the Saint Louis Post Dispatch reported.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexual abuse charges for abducting another boy, Ben Ownby, and received a life sentence and 20 additional years in that case.

The case captured the attention of the US public in January, when Ownby, 13, went missing on his way home from school in the state of Missouri. A tip from a neighbour who saw a suspicious vehicle led police to Devlin's apartment, where authorities found not only Ownby, but also Hornbeck, who had disappeared in 2002.

Details from Tuesday's hearing showed Devlin had nearly murdered Hornbeck early in his captivity, but the boy had talked his kidnapper out of killing him.

The plea deal was struck to keep the boys from having to issue painful testimony in court.

Devlin also faces additional charges related to the kidnappings in courts in other jurisdictions.