James Henry Hampton died of lethal injection at 12:05am Wednesday morning at the Potosi prison for the beating death of Frances Keaton of Warrenton. Hampton beat Keaton to death with a hammer in rural Callaway County in August of 1992. Hampton had kidnapped Keaton after he broke into her Warrenton home looking for $30,000 he thought she had made in a real estate transaction. He didn’t find the money, but did find Keaton and her fiance. He tied them up, kidnapped Keaton, drove to Callaway County and when she failed to come up with any money, he killed her. Hampton fled Missouri and while in New Jersey, killed another woman. When police attempted to arrest him, Hampton attempted unsuccessfully to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. A New Jersey court sentenced him to life in prison. In 1995, Hampton returned to Fulton to face a first degree murder charge in the death of Keaton. He received the death sentence on September 16, 1996. He made no appeals and refused efforts to intervene on his behalf.
