Police: Murder victim’s body found in closet on High Quest Drive
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man was formally charged Tuesday in the suspicious death of a woman.
Adam Conner, 37, was arrested Tuesday morning. He was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
A woman had called Columbia police Tuesday after allegedly not seeing her roommate since Friday. Police checked the residence on the 1700 block of High Quest Drive. The woman was at the residence with her son, Conner, when police went to perform a wellness check.
The woman said her roommate suffered from mental illness and wanted to make sure she wasn't in the house.
The officer found a closet in the garage of the building with a 40-pound bag of birdseed in front of it. Police found the victim's body inside the closet. The officer said the body was under a rug inside the closet with a wheelchair on top of it.
The victim was a 58-year-old woman who allegedly had struggled to walk prior. Police have not released the name of the victim.
The body was cold, according to the probable cause statement. The victim's legs were bound and was facedown.
According to the probable cause statement, police interviewed Conner, who allegedly said he saw last saw the victim early Saturday morning, but allegedly gave an inconsistent timeframe.
Police asked Conner how he got the victim in the closet.
"Why would... I don't know. That's a tough question man... Why would I... I don't know sir. I've never hit anybody in my entire life," Conner allegedly responded. "I'm not a uh that kinda person. I'm just not. Let alone hurt somebody like that."
It was later determined that the victim died from blunt force trauma to the head. Police interviewed Conner's mother, who claimed he told her on Saturday to not go into the garage.
Trash bags filled with blood-soaked clothes were found in the backyard. One trash bag contained a bloody claw hammer that crime-scene investigators claimed were consistent with the victim's head injury.
The GPS location of the victim's Life Protect device was at the residence. The Columbia Fire Department was dispatched at 3:11 a.m. Saturday. The device was allegedly pressed three times in between 2:57-2:59 a.m., according to the statement.
An employee at the call center allegedly sent a message to the subscriber and heard "constant panting" but could not verify if the person was safe.
When Columbia fire arrived to the garage, they had a code to open the door but someone else had tried to close it. They claimed the male in the garage was on the phone and said the victim was at the hospital, according to the statement.
Conner had several previous charges related to stealing leaving the scene of an accident and carelessly operating a vehicle.
