Date set for retrial in Cole County teen’s murder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The retrial in Devin Schrimpf's case will begin on Jan. 4, 2021.

A mistrial was declared in the case against 19-year-old Devin Schrimpf, who is accused of killing Marquise Conley at a home off Rolling Hills Road in 2019. A hearing will took place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the case of a Cole County murder. The hearing was originally scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday but was rescheduled for the same afternoon.

A mistrial was declared on Oct. 21 after hours of jury deliberation. Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said a mistrial is declared in a jury trial when the jury cannot come to a verdict.

The jury was tasked with deliberating between three different charges: first-degree murder, second-degree murder and unintentional manslaughter. Thompson speculated that the jury may have not been able to agree on which charge to pursue.

In open court on Wednesday, Schrimpf's defense attorney vouched for Schrimp to be offered bond. Part of defense attorney Dan Hunt's argument was that he said some jurors voted "not guilty" during the first trial. The judge did not rule on bond.

Grant Deppe plead guilty to accessory to second-degree murder and accessory to tampering with physical evidence for Conley's killing in 2020. Deppe was sentenced to six years for accessory to second-degree murder and four years for accessory to tampering with physical evidence, and he is serving those sentences consecutively.