A probable cause statement says a man described seeing Janice Cook’s body moved and buried on a Windsor property.
CLINTON, Mo. — A witness who said he saw a missing Missouri woman lying on the ground at a rural home led investigators to buried remains and helped turn the case into a murder prosecution, authorities said.
The witness account is central to the case against Billy Tabor, 70, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 43-year-old Janice Cook. Tabor and Colby Eisel, 39, are also charged with abandonment of a corpse. Authorities said the remains recovered from a Henry County property are believed to be Cook’s.
The witness told police he went to Tabor’s residence in Windsor at about 2 a.m. March 28. According to a probable cause statement, he found Tabor pacing back and forth and acting agitated. The witness then saw Cook on the ground and believed she was dead. Investigators said the witness described what happened next in detail: Tabor allegedly got ropes, tied them to Cook and attached them to a Honda CR-V. The vehicle was then used to drag Cook farther down the property. Tabor allegedly called for the witness to come down and help “dig a grave,” and the two men dug a large hole. The witness said Cook’s body was wrapped in black fabric and buried there.
Investigators did not publicly identify the witness, and the probable cause statement released in the case was redacted. The witness also told police that Tabor threatened to shoot him if he did not move Cook’s vehicle and belongings to Johnson County. After Tabor later drove him home, the witness said he saw a black revolver on a table. The statement does not say whether that gun was recovered or tested. It also does not say what weapon, if any, investigators believe was used in Cook’s death. The account gave deputies a location to search after weeks of uncertainty. When the witness took them back to Tabor’s property, authorities said human remains were recovered.
The witness’s statement came after a missing-person investigation that had already pointed detectives toward Windsor. Cook was reported missing April 9, nearly two weeks after police said her social media accounts went quiet. Her last known online activity was March 27. Her vehicle was found abandoned March 28, and her dog was found about a mile from the same location. Friends and family told investigators Cook would never abandon her dog, police said. That detail, combined with the silence from Cook’s accounts, deepened concerns that her absence was not voluntary. Phone records then showed Cook’s last known location was in Windsor and that her last contact was with Tabor, whose residence became a focus of the investigation.
When police first questioned Tabor, he said he knew Cook and confirmed that she had been at his residence in the early morning hours of March 28. He said she stayed for a “couple of hours” and then left, but investigators said he could not provide an exact time. Police later learned of another statement attributed to Tabor. An unnamed woman told authorities that Tabor had said she “would not have to worry about J.J. anymore,” using Cook’s nickname. When asked whether he killed Cook, Tabor allegedly laughed and walked away without giving an answer. That alleged exchange became part of the case record, along with the witness’s account of the body being moved and buried.
The case shows how investigators moved from indirect signs of a disappearance to a claimed eyewitness account of concealment. At first, the record included an abandoned vehicle, a dog found away from its owner and a sudden stop in social media activity. The phone records then tied Cook’s last known location and last contact to Tabor. His own statement placed Cook at his residence during the early morning hours of March 28. The later witness statement added a specific scene, a vehicle, ropes, a burial spot and an alleged threat. Prosecutors are likely to treat those pieces as a chain of evidence, while defense attorneys may challenge the witness account, the timing and the meaning of Tabor’s alleged remarks.
Authorities have not released several key facts. The public filing does not say how Cook died, whether an autopsy has been completed or whether investigators found blood, fabric, rope, tire marks or other physical evidence that matched the witness account. It also does not explain Eisel’s alleged role. Law enforcement said both Tabor and Eisel were involved in moving Cook’s body, but only Tabor faces a murder charge. The difference in charges may reflect what investigators believe each man did and when they believe he became involved. The case remains at an early stage, and charges are accusations, not proof.
After the witness led deputies to the property, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office said it recovered human remains and believed they belonged to Cook. Officials said they contacted Cook’s family, but confirmation through forensic testing was still pending when the arrests were announced. The sheriff’s office did not release the precise location of the burial site on the property. It also did not say whether additional searches were planned at the home, along the path where the body was allegedly dragged or in Johnson County, where the witness said Cook’s vehicle and belongings were moved under threat.
Tabor was questioned again by police before his arrest, but investigators said he invoked his right to counsel. He was charged with first-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse. Eisel was charged with abandonment of a corpse and booked into the Henry County Jail. Tabor is being held without bond, and a bond hearing was scheduled for May 5. Eisel’s bond was set at $250,000 cash only, and his next court date was not available in the information released. Future hearings are expected to determine whether either man will remain jailed as the case moves forward.
The case now turns on forensic confirmation, court filings and the strength of the witness testimony. Investigators have said they believe the recovered remains are Cook’s, but the official identification and cause of death may shape the prosecution. Statements attributed to witnesses are likely to be tested in court through cross-examination and supporting evidence. For now, the record presents a case built from Cook’s disappearance, her last known contact, an alleged burial and two arrests tied to the handling of her body.
For now, Tabor is jailed without bond on a murder charge, and Eisel is jailed on a cash-only bond. The next public developments are expected through forensic results and court proceedings in Henry County.
Author note: Last updated May 23, 2026.