Slain KKK leader's wife, stepson charged

The wife and stepson of a Ku Klux Klan leader found dead in Missouri have been charged with his murder.

Paul E. Jinkerson, Jr. is seen in an undated photo provided by the Washington County, Mo., Sheriffs Office. Jinkerson, Jr. Source: AAP

The wife and stepson of a Ku Klux Klan leader found fatally shot next to a river in eastern Missouri have been charged over his death.

Malissa Ann Ancona, 44, and her 24-year-old son, Paul Edward Jinkerson Jr, were charged with first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse in the death of Frank Ancona. Both have been jailed without bond.

A probable cause statement alleges that Ancona, 51, was fatally shot in his sleep on Thursday at his home in Leadwood, Missouri. St Francois County Sheriff's Department detective Matt Wampler wrote that after the shooting, Ancona's body was taken in Jinkerson's vehicle to an area near Belgrade, Missouri.

A family that was fishing in the Big River found the body on Saturday. An autopsy revealed that Ancona died of a gunshot to the head.

Ancona called himself an imperial wizard with the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. A website for the group includes an image of Ancona in a white hood and robe standing in front of a burning cross. The website describes the group as a "White Patriotic Christian organization that bases its roots back to the Ku Klux Klan of the early 20th century."

Prior to the discovery of Ancona's body, Malissa Ancona told police her husband had left the state on a delivery job. She said he planned to file for divorce when he returned.