Man found guilty of murder in woman’s death in October 2022 sentenced to life in prison

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who was found guilty of murder in May was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.

Jessie Williams, 33, was found guilty by a jury on May 16 of second-degree murder in the October 2022 death of Kaylen Schmit. He is accused of pushing Schmit off the Highway 63 bridge near Clark Lane. Schmit, 24, fell 38 feet into a wooded area and died hours later at a hospital.

Williams appeared in court for his sentencing. Monday's sentence will run consecutive to a seven-year sentence in another assault case. Williams' attorney asked for a new trial, but was denied that request.

During Monday's sentencing, Williams' attorney Daniel Hickman argued that while Williams has a history of crimes, he doesn't find a life sentence to be fitting. Hickman noted only having positive interactions with Williams and asked that the judge take into consideration his life growing up.

According to Williams' mother Tabitha Veltrop -- who took the stand during Monday's sentencing -- Williams was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at 21. Veltrop described Williams as a caring person, who had a difficult life growing up and constantly struggled with suicidal thoughts.

Veltrop also denied the claims that William threw Schmit off the bridge, and said he too was a victim of what happened, adding that Schmit and Williams were good friends. For those reasons, Veltrop also asked the judge to consider a lesser sentence.

Hickman requested Judge Brouck Jacobs consider a sentence of 15 years instead.

"I think that that would suggest some leniency in sentence would be appropriate," Hickman said. "Giving him an opportunity to recognize that we don't just walk away from you because you struggle and you have had a hard life."

The state requested Jacobs impose the life sentence on Williams. Punishment for murder in the second-degree includes a minimum of 10 years in prison, up to a maximum of 30 years or life in prison.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Boone County Susan Boresi said the state felt a life sentence was necessary due to the violent nature of the crime Williams committed.

Boresi argued in court that because Williams knew Schmit, this made the crime that much more violent. Boresi told ABC 17 News the state also felt that Williams cannot be free in society without structure and supervision.

"I think if you look at the defendant's history, it's pretty clear that he can't be safely in our society. He's a danger to himself as well as a danger to others," Boresi said. "A life sentence will ensure that in the event that he ever is paroled, and parole will be an option for him at some point, he will still be on lifetime supervision."

Hickman denied a request to speak to ABC 17 News directly.

Jacobs ultimately sided with the state, saying he took into consideration Williams' prior convictions, including violent crimes. Jacobs also noted he didn't feel Williams came to the decision to throw Schmit over the bridge quickly.

"This wasn't some sort of a fleeting, you know, impulsive quick decision that was made," Jacobs said. "It was.. he made the decision to pick her up and against her struggles, throw her over that bridge and that was what the evidence was that the jury considered."

Jacobs also denied a request to appeal bond. Williams did not speak for himself on Monday. He briefly spoke to his lawyer, and denied to answer the judge about whether or not he felt he was represented properly by his attorney, claiming he wasn't mentally sound enough to do so.

Surveillance footage presented by the Columbia Police Department in May showed Schmit and Williams together, along with another man, on the afternoon of Schmit's death. The footage was captured inside and around the Break Time gas station near Conley Road.

Additional video from the Best Western hotel showed a white truck stopping on the Highway 63 overpass and a shirtless man walking south on the highway around the time Schmit fell, previous reporting shows. Further surveillance from nearby businesses captured a shirtless Williams walking south alone past the Break Time and in front of Walmart, Lowe', and Sam's on Conley Road that evening, previous reporting indicates.

According to the probable cause statement from 2022, witnesses told police that Williams and Schmit had been seen arguing in a nearby homeless camp before the incident. Other witnesses saw the two walking on the Highway 63 overpass, with one witness telling police he saw Williams grabbing Schmit's legs to throw her over the guardrail on the Highway 63 bridge, previous reporting indicates.

Several Columbia police officers who helped in the case filled the court room on Monday. Boresi also noted Schmit's father was there, as well.