Cole County man found dead with gunshot wound

The Cole County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death of a man who was found shot at a residence on Collier Court Sunday morning.

The department received a phone call around 8:45 a.m. Sunday that there was a dead person at the 5200 block of Collier Court.

Sheriff John Wheeler said a resident of the apartment building made the call.

Wheeler said when deputies arrived at the residence they found Dennis Thompson, 35, deceased with multiple gun shot wounds.

Wheeler said he couldn’t estimate when the shooting happened or how long Thompson had been deceased before deputies arrived.

Deputies said there was no sign of a burglary or forced entry into the apartment.

Wheeler said he is not aware of any witness statements indicating they heard gun shots.

Wheeler said the sheriff’s department is looking at all angles in this homicide investigation.

“We look at everybody as a victim and everybody as a suspect,” Wheeler said. “We don’t want to tunnel vision on any one person so we try to follow down every lead that we can.”

The Jefferson City Police Department is assisting with the investigation.

Wheeler said he briefly knew the victim personally.

“He was a good guy,” Wheeler said. “I’ve talked to him a couple times. He seemed like he was pretty easy going.”

This is the first homicide of the year for the Cole County Sheriff’s Office.

Wheeler said no one else was injured.

ABC 17 News will update this story as more information becomes available.