Man accused of murdering woman on bridge has motion hearing Aug. 2

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A motion hearing for a man accused of pushing a woman off a bridge and killing her in October is set for Aug. 2.

Jessie Williams, 32, is accused of pushing Kaylen Schmit off the Highway 63 bridge near Clark Lane and killing her on Oct. 4. Schmit, 24, fell 38 feet into a wooded area and died hours later at a hospital.

He is charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The defense filed a motion to suppress May 5, aiming to suppress statements Williams allegedly made to police without his lawyer present. The prosecution argues Williams didn’t invoke his Miranda Rights.

The motion states detectives talked with Williams the night he was detained. Williams was in his holding cell and detectives allegedly asked him to “go upstairs and chat” about the alleged events. The defense’s motion claims Williams told detectives to “just go” and that Williams also said he “doesn’t answer questions."

The defense’s motion claims detectives read him his rights and that Williams didn't confirm he understood and allegedly asked the detectives if they were “mad.” The motion says they read his rights again and he allegedly confirmed, but throughout the questioning allegedly made several comments saying he doesn’t want to speak, including pleading the Fifth Amendment.

The prosecution’s side claims detectives read Williams his Miranda Rights and that Williams initially said "yes" and then quickly said, "no." The state claims detectives read his rights again and Williams understood.

The state claims detectives terminated the questioning after Williams allegedly stated he needed a lawyer after 25 minutes, 40 seconds of questioning in an interaction that lasted 26 minutes, 21 seconds, according to court documents.

Court documents from the prosecution claim Williams pleaded the Fifth Amendment to a question around 15 minutes in, and did not invoke his right to silence prior.