Officers found Sandra Kay Sutton, 46, and son Zachary Wade Sutton, 17, shot dead in a house in Clinton, Missouri, about 4.20am local time, according to a news release from the Clinton Police Department.

The bodies were found when family members returned to the house after work, police said.

On April 30, Sutton told police her former boyfriend, identified as James Horn Jr, 47, had routinely locked her in a box in their home in Sedalia, Missouri, over a four-month period.