A long time resident of the Ozarks, Tim Norton, age 56, might have a past worth digging in to. While the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate, there are quite a few things that can be learned about Tim and his close friend James Phelps.
The two are currently facing murder charges as well as kidnapping and abandonment of a corpse in the death of Cassidy Rainwater, a local Lebanon woman who went missing in late July of this year.
Update: Preliminary Hearing Scheduled for 02/02/2022 at 9:00am
Timothy Norton’s Early Years
Timothy Norton was born in 1965 to Betty Norton of Hermitage and Vernon Hanson of Cromwell, Minnesota. Tim graduated from the Hermitage High School in 1983. In High School, Norton repeatedly made the Honor Roll at Hermitage and Skyline High Schools. Norton attended Skyline with James Phelps, who was two grades ahead.
After graduating high school, a young Norton joined the Marines. He relocated to the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Millington, Tennessee and completed the Basic Helicopter Course.
In the fall of 1988, Norton married his first wife, a 17-year-old senior at Hermitage high. They announced their upcoming nuptials in the The Index, Hermitage’s local paper.
Into the 90s, Norton’s small time criminal career began with minor infractions, from passing bad checks to not wearing a seat belt. Timothy also plead guilty to misdemeanor assault in 1993.
During this time, according to CaseNet court records, Norton’s address is listed as 386 Moon Valley Rd in Lebanon, the same address he used at the time of the murder of Cassidy Rainwater.
In 1994, Norton married his second wife in Preston, Missouri.
386 Moon Valley Road, Lebanon, Missouri
Timothy Norton has used this address at various points over the years. One odd thing is that the cabin where James Phelps was living is actually not on the tract of land defined as having the address of 386 Moon Valley. It is actually on land that is split with a small section on the south side of Moon Valley Road and dozens of acres to the north. When Norton first used this address in 1992, the larger tract of property was owned by Rock Oak Bible Camp. It was then transferred to Cavalry Bible College in 1993.
The lot that uses the address 386 also changed hands in the mid-90s, but has remained under the same ownership since.
So who actually owns the cabin at 386 Moon Valley? Is this strange discrepancy just the result of lax property recording keeping or is there more to this story.
Assorted Unconfirmed Tidbits
Timothy Norton may have used the name “Tolnok Tolnoss” online,
