Ozark County jury convicts man in 1992 cold case

More than three decades after two women were brutally attacked in a remote wilderness area outside Branson, justice has been handed down - thanks to the verdict reached by an Ozark County jury last week.

After a four day jury trial, held March 24-27, Tony Wagner, 63, was found guilty of two counts of assault in the first-degree and one count of aggravated forcible rape. The jury recommended that Wagner be sentenced to life in prison on each of the three charges.

Wagner’s attorney Amy O’Keefe requested a sentencing advisory report. A sentencing hearing will be held at 10 a.m. July 11, at the Taney County Courthouse.

The trial, conducted at the Ozark County Courthouse in Gainesville, was transferred on a change of venue motion to Ozark County from its originating county of Taney.

Court documents say that two women traveled by themselves to Branson from Texas for vacation on Aug. 14, 1992. The next day, they visited Henning State Park, located on West Highway 76 in Branson, in order to hike the trails there, which are located in a hilly and remote area, the documents say. 

While on the trail hiking, the women were surprised by a man who reportedly took a rock and began striking them in the head. The man drug one woman away from the immediate vicinity of the other woman and raped her. 

DNA was what eventually led officials to charge Wagner with the crimes. The Times hopes to include a more detailed story on the case and trial in an upcoming edition.