COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to killing a Stephens College student and injuring two others in downtown Columbia last year. Misael Covarrubias admitted to second-degree murder in the shooting that killed Aiyanna Williams on East Broadway in September 2025. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree assault, three
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A University of Missouri football player received a new heart on Wednesday, head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. Drinkwitz posted on X on Thursday morning that freshman lineman Johnnie “DJ” Jones went through a heart transplant Wednesday night. Drinkwitz said the surgery “went well,” and that Jones is recovering. https://t.co/wopk0fiZIz— Eliah Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz)
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A group of Lincoln University students and alumni want a federal judge to fix what they claim is decades of underfunding from the state. Seven people, represented by Calloway Law and the 1890 Project, filed the federal lawsuit against Gov. Mike Kehoe, the state’s higher education departments, and University of Missouri
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WARSAW, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman on Monday afternoon pleaded guilty to helping kill a child in Benton County. Kourtney Aumen, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault. She will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. The hearing appeared suddenly on the CaseNet court records website Monday morning ahead of Aumen’s trial,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Construction crews along I-70 will delay some of their weekend work in Columbia and Boone County for the University of Missouri’s Homecoming weekend. Lairyn McGregor, spokesperson for MoDOT’s Improve I-70 project, said crews will push paving work to later evening hours to accommodate a potential uptick in traffic. Paving work west
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Traffic backed up Friday morning heading into Jefferson City due to a car crash. The Missouri Department of Transportation warned drivers that westbound Highway 54 had been narrowed near the Missouri River Bridge for the crash. A MoDOT camera showed a line of traffic in both lanes on the highway heading
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) First responders have reopened a lane of Interstate 70 in east Columbia after a crash labeled a “law incident.” Columbia Police Department spokesman Colin Imhoff said CPD officers were helping with a traffic stop that turned into a chase near I-70 and Range Line Street. The suspect vehicle crashed near I-70 and
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A former Missouri attorney general is leaving his job at the FBI in Washington D.C. Andrew Bailey announced on X Monday morning that he would be stepping down as deputy FBI director to return to Missouri and his family. Bailey thanked Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI director Kash Patel in
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Highway 63 reopened Thursday morning north of Columbia after a crash shut it down. First responders shut down the highway north of the intersection with Range Line Street. Boone County Joint Communications sent an alert just before 9:30 a.m. An ABC 17 News reporter saw one northbound lane and both southbound
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A former daycare operator pleaded guilty to four felonies Monday ahead of her bench trial on child abuse charges in Randolph County. Naomi Hess pleaded guilty on Monday to four counts of first-degree child endangerment. The class D felonies carry a maximum seven-year prison sentence. Hess will be sentenced on November
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A suspect in a weekend shooting death in Moberly was arrested Thursday after what police called a “brief standoff.” The Moberly Police Department said Thursday afternoon that a suspect was in custody after a standoff that began that morning, and later said in a news release that the suspect was Christopher Viley,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Two juveniles were in custody Tuesday after Boone County sheriff’s deputies chased them in an alleged stolen vehicle. Capt. Brian Leer with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said deputies tried pulling over the driver of a car reported stolen out of Nebraska on Interstate 70 near the Highway 63 connector. Leer
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – The head of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop F is getting a promotion. The patrol announced Monday morning that Capt. Jason Crites would become a major in the department, and begin leading the Executive Services Bureau. That branch oversees services like records, budget, research and the governor’s security. Crites started
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – While more individual voting precincts in Columbia voted against Proposition 1, big turnout in parts of west Columbia powered the measure to pass. Results for Proposition 1, the 1% increase in Columbia’s sales tax to help fund public safety, analyzed by ABC 17 News, show the race stayed tight across town.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former Cooper County Jail guard received a two-year probation term for her role in an inmate’s death in 2023. Rachel Atherton pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter on Monday. Prosecutors reduced her chare on Friday to the lesser felony. Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for special prosecutors out of Jackson County, said Atherton
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – Boone County firefighters put out a trailer fire Wednesday afternoon east of Columbia that damaged at least two homes. Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief Chuck Doss told ABC 17 News that a trailer caught fire near two homes in the 7400 block of Suncrest Court. Joey Rimel with the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The group promoting Gov. Mike Kehoe’s push to eliminate Missouri’s income tax has spent $3 million so far this election. Filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission show Missouri Promise PAC has spent $3.3 million from April 1-June 30 supporting Amendment 5. Most of its spending has gone toward “media” so far. Its
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – First responders say a tanker with ammonium nitrate did not spill after tipping over in Morgan County on Sunday night. Gravois Fire Protection District chief Dustin Hancock said in a news release that several agencies helped respond to a crash on Lake Trail Road around 7 p.m. on July 12. Hancock
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Police in Mexico arrested a man for allegedly stabbing someone on Monday. Police Chief Brice Mesko said in a news release on Tuesday that Darrell Smith, 42, was taken into custody for allegedly stabbing a man in the 700 block of Singleton in Mexico. Smith is charged with second-degree assault and armed
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) – A Cole County judge will let some of Columbia Public Schools’ lawsuit over a new charter school in Boone County proceed. Judge Emily Fretwell decided on Monday to let CPS pursue claims against the state, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and the State Board of Education over a 2024 law that permitted
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