Hallsville man accused of abandoning corpse after drug overdose death

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Hallsville man was charged Friday with abandoning a corpse and tampering with evidence after a woman was found dead from a drug overdose in a Columbia hotel.

Police arrested Kenneth C. Jones, 32, in Columbia on Thursday on two outstanding warrants. He was in the Boone County Jail on Friday on a $25,000 cash-only bond.

Officers found the body of a woman identified in court documents only as E.D. on Monday afternoon in a room at Suburban Extended Stay hotel in east Columbia. Police also found drug paraphernalia with traces of methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to a probable cause statement.

Detectives found ice cubes in E.D.'s pants and under her body and the thermostat turned to 67 degrees, according to the statement. Police say those are signs that E.D. became overheated from a drug overdose.

The woman's parents identified Jones as her significant other and police say surveillance video tied him to the scene. Police describe another person identified in the statement as A.H. as a suspect. It's not clear whether charges have been filed against A.H.

Jones admitted to police that he had been in the room and used ice in an attempt to revive E.D., according to the probable cause statement. Police say Jones admitted to removing his items and E.D.'s cellphone from the room, attempting to conceal his identity as he left the room and deleting files from E.D.'s phone.

Jones had no lawyer listed in online court records.