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A friendship that began with seemingly innocent intentions spiraled into a chilling murder plot, resulting in the death of an unsuspecting man. This startling tale is revisited in detail on Oxygen’s gripping series, Killer Grannies, set to air on Sunday, December 14, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode dives into the complex web of accusations and counterclaims that characterize this perplexing case.
In the early hours of March 23, 2006, the body of Melvin Beau Griesbauer, a Navy veteran and Army reservist, was discovered on a secluded farm in rural Novinger, Missouri. The tragic incident unfolded shortly after 1:30 a.m., with Griesbauer found lifeless by his wife, Elain “Kay” Young, and her visiting friend, Katherine Mock. The 48-year-old had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head, with a .30-30 rifle lying nearby.
Kay Young and Katherine Mock recounted to law enforcement officers that Kay was startled awake by the sound of a gunshot. She then woke Katherine to join her in searching for the source of the noise. Their discovery led to a scene that was initially reported as a suicide.
“The call came in as a suicide,” recalled Chief Deputy Tracy Salsberry from the Adair County Sheriff’s Department. “There was a significant wound on his left cheek.” As the investigation unfolded, what seemed like a straightforward case of self-infliction took a darker turn, with the two women at the heart of a tangled narrative of murder and betrayal.
Discovered by his wife, Elain “Kay” Young, and her visiting friend, Katherine Mock, the 48-year-old had been shot in the head, with a .30-30 rifle near his body. The two told detectives that Kay had been woken up by a gunshot—and she roused Katherine to go with her to investigate.
“It was called in as a suicide,” said Adair County Sheriff’s Dept. Chief Deputy Tracy Salsberry. “There was a large hole in his left cheek.”
However, investigators weren’t so sure. The position of the gun, a shell casing landing 10 feet from the body, and the rifle being reloaded led them to suspect his death was a homicide, which a medical examiner later confirmed.
Who are Kay Young and Katherine Mock?
Kay had been married multiple times—with children from her first—ultimately tying the knot with Melvin. She had worked as a nurse and a teacher before launching a dog-breeding business on the 93-acre farm that had been in her family for generations.
On the night of Melvin’s murder, she told detectives he had come home from the packing plant after midnight and had gone out to feed their horses. That’s when she heard the shot.
Meanwhile, Katherine, a dog groomer, lived in Cassville, Missouri with her long-distance truck-driver husband, Butch Mock.
“Kat and Butch were very happy,” his brother John Mock shared in the episode. “But in the later years there was a lot of suspicion between the two of them. He suspected that she was messing around on him.”
Katherine and Kay’s accounts of the fatal events matched so closely that officials thought the stories may have been rehearsed.
When law enforcement searched the house, they found a ski mask and gloves plus bank records and insurance policies that raised red flags.
“Kay Young was severely having financial issues,” said now-retired Adair County Sheriff’s Dept. Chief Deputy, Larry Logston. “She’s living outside her means. We leave the crime scene knowing that Kay is our no. 1 person of interest.”
Kay Young’s story changes
After her initial interview, Kay told sheriffs that Katherine actually was not sleeping when she went to get her. Rather, Katherine was allegedly found crying in the bathtub.
“It changed the possible involvement of Katherine,” said Adair County former prosecutor Mark Williams, “and made it look like Katherine had regrets.”
Not to mention, Katherine’s son, Thomas Ponder, told detectives that his mother asked him if he knew a hit man, admitting to him Melvin had been abusive and she was concerned.
“According to Thomas,” said Williams, “Katherine had said Kay was wanting to find somebody that could do that.”
Katherine Mock arrested after apparent suicide attempt
On March 24, Katherine arrived at her friend, Jean Ballard’s home with a bag filled with 180 Vicodin pills given to her by Kay. In an apparent suicide attempt, Katherine swallowed enough to be hospitalized.
Sheriffs initially believed that Kay shot Melvin and manipulated Katherine into covering for her. However, DNA from the discovered mask belonged to Katherine. Plus, security video from Walmart showed her buying it days before Melvin was killed. She was taken into custody for murder in the first degree.
“We believed Kay and Kathy were both involved,” said Salsberry. “We do not know who actually pulled the trigger.”
In researching Kay’s relationship history, detectives learned she was active on a dating app while Melvin was alive.
Men she’d connected with through the site told investigators she wished Melvin was dead.
“With four husbands already under her belt,” said former reporter for The Kirksville Daily Heidi Dunkleman, “it’s clear that Kay was looking for a replacement already.”
On top of that, investigators learned that Kay was on the verge of losing her farm and dog-breeding business.
“All together,” said Logston, “Melvin had $1.2 million in life insurance.”
Over the next two years, Williams met with Katherine several times, yet she refused to reveal who shot Melvin.
Until her son Jason—who was in prison for charges unrelated to the farm homicide—convinced her to tell the truth.
“Katherine made it very clear that she was scared of Kay,” said Williams. “She felt if Kay was arrested and put in Adair County jail, Kay would kill Katherine. But she gave us the information that Kay is the individual who pulled the trigger and killed Melvin.”
On March 17, 2008, Kay was arrested. Investigators searched her car and found a journal in which she’d kept notes about Melvin’s murder, a $10,000 hit fee and Katherine’s pills.
Who killed Melvin Griesbauer?
In March 2012, the trial began for Kay and Katherine, who were charged for conspiracy to commit murder for hire and first-degree murder.
The prosecution claimed that Kay befriended Katherine and told her Melvin was abusive, convincing her to help her kill him.
During the trial, each one accused the other of pulling the trigger.
“The jury felt that they were both involved, like they were, and that Kay pulled the trigger,” said Williams. “I believe Kay by far was the mastermind…and found her puppet.”
On March 19, Kay and Katherine were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
For more on this case and others like it, watch Killer Grannies, airing Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Oxygen.
