James's death was written off as nothing more than a tragic accident caused by a careless father who did not appreciate firearms safety. The gun had been impounded as evidence and Sharon was unable to get it back so she had a male friend buy her a .22 automatic pistol. He registered it in her name and she asked he re-register it in someone else's name.

James was buried in Independence's Oak Ridge Memory Gardens Cemetery and Sharon collected his $29,000 life insurance policy. She immediately went and purchased a brand-new Ford Thunderbird. On April 18, just about one month after her husband's demise, Sharon went back to the Ford dealership to get air conditioning installed, which in this era generally consisted of an aftermarket unit that hung under the dashboard. She encountered a young salesman named Walter Jones who told her that for only $500 she could swap her car for a different Thunderbird he had on the lot which already had air conditioning installed. The two quickly became attracted to each other and began an affair.

Walter's wife Patricia was two years older than Sharon and a native of St. Joseph, Missouri. Her and Walter were high school sweethearts who married in 1955, just after she graduated, and Walter enlisted in the Marines. The couple lived in California for two years; after Walter completed his military service in 1958 they came back to Missouri. By 1960 they had two small children and Patricia worked as an IRS clerk while Walter got a job at the Ford dealership.