A dental comparison connected remains found at a Lundy Road home to missing teenager Ceasar Asbury.
HOUSTON, Mo. — A forensic dental comparison has pushed a Texas County child abuse case into a murder prosecution after remains found at a rural home were identified as Ceasar Asbury, authorities said.
The identification gave prosecutors the link they needed to add death-related charges against Chaun Asbury, 42, and Tamla Asbury, 45. The couple had already been arrested after deputies searched their Lundy Road property in March and reported finding children in dangerous conditions. Once the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the remains as Ceasar’s, Texas County Prosecuting Attorney Parke Stevens filed expanded charges that include second-degree murder.
The search warrant was executed March 10 in the Bucyrus area. The Texas County Sheriff’s Office said it was tied to a missing person investigation. Officers said Chaun Asbury attempted to flee as law enforcement approached. Tamla Asbury came out of the residence and was detained. Deputies then searched a property they described as lacking utilities and sewer service. They found three juveniles, evidence of physical abuse and unnecessary restraint, and later skeletal remains in a shallow grave.
The forensic step was important because investigators initially could not publicly identify the remains. The sheriff’s office said in March that the findings were consistent with Ceasar Asbury, who had been reported as a possible runaway by the suspects. Dental comparison later confirmed that suspicion. Sheriff Scott Lindsey announced the identification and said additional evidence had been presented to prosecutors. “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.
The indictment alleges Ceasar died on or about May 25, 2022, as a result of child abuse or neglect. Prosecutors also allege his corpse was abandoned from that date until the March 10 search in 2026. Those dates create a long timeline for investigators to prove. The state must show not only that the remains belonged to Ceasar, but also that his death was tied to criminal conduct and that the defendants were responsible for the alleged concealment after his death.
The expanded charges against each defendant include second-degree murder, abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, abandonment of a corpse, three counts of first-degree domestic assault and eight counts of abuse or neglect of a child. The domestic assault and child abuse counts are tied not only to Ceasar, but also to other children described in public summaries of the indictment by their current ages. The charges are felonies. They remain accusations and are not proof of guilt.
Deputies said one surviving child was found locked in a shed with no utilities, bound to a bed and severely malnourished. The child required urgent medical care. Chief Deputy Rowdy Douglas said the children found at the home were malnourished, dirty and extremely scared. He said hospital staff told investigators the youngest child may have been close to dying. The Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division helped place the children in protective custody after the search.
The public indictment summaries describe alleged harm to children now listed as 16, 14, 12, 8 and 6 years old. Some counts accuse the defendants of causing serious physical injury. Others allege serious emotional injury through lack of nutrition, housing and emotional development support. The listed time frames for several counts stretch from November 2023 to March 2026. That means prosecutors are expected to present evidence about the condition of the home across a period far longer than the day of the search.
The case also involves several agencies and offices. The sheriff’s office led the investigation. The Texas County Coroner responded after remains were found. The Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control helped with recovery and analysis. The St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office performed the dental comparison. Local police agencies assisted during the warrant operation. Together, those steps moved the case from the scene at the home to forensic review and then to the prosecutor’s office. What has not been released may matter as much as what has. Officials have not publicly provided a detailed cause of death, a full autopsy report or a narrative explaining what allegedly happened to Ceasar in May 2022. They have not said what specific evidence led them from a missing person inquiry to the Lundy Road search. They also have not released detailed updates on the medical recovery of the surviving children. Those details may remain limited while the case is pending.
The procedural path ahead will likely include arraignment, evidence motions and hearings on the expanded indictment. Local reporting said the defendants were scheduled for May 12 appearances after the new charges. Both were held in the Texas County Jail on no-bond warrants. Prosecutors will have to support the charges with forensic evidence, records, witness testimony and proof of the alleged abuse or neglect described in the indictment.
By late May, the case had become one of the most serious recent prosecutions in Texas County, built around a rural search, a forensic identification and allegations involving multiple children. As of May 28, 2026, Chaun and Tamla Asbury remained jailed while the murder and child abuse case continued in court.
Author note: Last updated May 28, 2026.