Amy Zanca arrived at the Seminole County Jail Tuesday, after she was arrested in connection with the murder of her boyfriend, Kenneth Hornbeck. Seminole County Sheriff Shannon Smith escorted Zanca into the jail. (Photo by Bill Finch, the Seminole Producer)

By Bill Finch

The Seminole Producer

The girlfriend of a murdered Maysville man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kenneth Hornbeck, 30.

Amy Zanca, of Holdenville, was booked into Seminole County Jail on Tuesday afternoon, January 17, after authorities linked Hornbeck’s DNA to the truck she was driving at the time of his death.

Hornbeck’s badly mangled body was found in Seminole County, along State Highway 377, approximately three miles south of Bowlegs on Oct. 27, 2011. He appeared to have been a victim of a hit and run that occurred on the previous day.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, as part of the investigation into Hornbeck’s death, DNA samples were taken from the undercarriage of Zanca’s vehicle two days after Hornbeck’s death.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) began testing the samples and notified the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office days ago of a positive match.

The probability of the DNA belonging to someone else was at least one in 3.00 quintillion, according to the OSBI.

The affidavit stated that during interviews with law enforcement, it appeared Zanca’s story of what happened changed several times, and she was unable to tell the same story as she told earlier.

In one interview, she told of having a fight with Hornbeck, and that he had gotten out of the vehicle and started walking towards Seminole. She said she drove to where Hornbeck was, but all she saw was his boots in the roadway, but that he was missing.

In another interview, Zanca said Hornbeck got out of the vehicle during an argument, and that she ran up to him and tried to get him back in the vehicle, grabbing and ripping his shirt while telling him to get back in the car.

Hornbeck was said to have kept walking, and Zanca returned to her vehicle. She said when she started her vehicle, she saw a vehicle that swerved and did not stop. When she drove down the road a little way, she saw boots in the middle of the road. She said she stopped and put them in the back of her vehicle.

According to a report filed by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Galaway, who mapped the scene, it was a low speed impact that caused the injuries to Hornbeck.

Zanca is being held without bond in county jail while awaiting formal charges from the District Attorney.