COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) EDITOR’S NOTE: The victim’s name has been corrected. Prosecutors have filed two new charges against two suspects in the death of a Moberly teenager whose remains were found in a conservation area last month. Christopher Hull, 23, and Hunter Ames, 19, both of Moberly, were charged Friday with first-degree property damage and
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man originally charged with murder in a deadly shooting in the drive-thru of a Columbia McDonald’s was sentenced to prison Thursday. Correy Greene, 36, pleaded guilty to illegal transfer of a weapon and illegal gun possession in the 2020 shooting death of Marqukis Hayes at a McDonald’s on Clark Lane in
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Charges have been dropped against a Mexico, Missouri, man accused of shooting and killing his brother more than two years ago. Charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon against Stephen Welch were dropped last week, said Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney Jacob Shellabarger. Boone County Prosecuting Attorney
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MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ) The father of 16-year-old Kayla Huff, who was found dead in a Randolph County conservation area last month, says he’s working with a domestic violence shelter to bring awareness to teen dating violence and abuse. “We are working with this amazing organization to try to educate our children on the dangers of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) EDITOR’S NOTE: The suspect’s age has been corrected. A murder charge was filed Tuesday against a Columbia man accused of putting his significant other’s body in a City of Columbia trash bin and dumping it into a body of water. Andrew B. Acton, 53, was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in Boone
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A Callaway County man has made an Alford plea to reduced charges in a 2017 Cole County homicide. Zacchaeus D. Silva pleaded guilty earlier this month to accessory to second-degree assault in the beating death of Jerry Robertson on April 20, 2017, court records show. Silva had been indicted with second-degree
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Editor’s note: this story has been corrected to fix where Kayla Huff’s memorial service will be held. MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Moberly community gathered Saturday night for 16-year-old Kayla Huff, who was found dead in the Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area on Wednesday night. The Immanuel Baptist Church held space for people to pray, cry and
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia teenager was charged as an adult with murder, robbery and armed criminal action in a deadly Facebook Marketplace meetup. Judge Tracy Gonzalez agreed to certify Mikel Jones, 17, as an adult in an alleged deadly robbery in southwest Columbia, minutes before charges were filed. Columbia police believe he took part
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County jury suggested sentencing a Holts Summit woman convicted of murder to up to decades in prison on Friday. The jury deliberated the sentence of Heather Smith, 38, on a change of venue from Callaway County. She was convicted on five criminal counts on Thursday, including felony murder. Smith was
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Even with hundreds of witness statements, Columbia Police criminal investigator Lt. Matt Gremore says 17 years later that no clear suspect has been identified in the death of 49-year-old Mark Dailey. “To this day, we have no idea who the suspect is or even what the motive was for the killing,” Gremore
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Holts Summit woman has been found guilty of felony murder in the 2025 shooting death of 37-year-old Kara Dills. Heather Smith, 38, was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of second-degree murder, known as felony murder. The jury also turned in a guilty verdict for three counts of unlawful use
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) On a chilly January day in 2009, a hiker found skeletal remains at a homeless encampment near a trailway behind the Conley Road Walmart in Columbia. Officers began their investigation on Jan. 7. By April 20, with the help of forensic anthropology experts from the University of Missouri, police were able to
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Following testimonies from neighbors and her own children, 38-year-old murder suspect Heather Smith took to the witness stand Wednesday. Smith is accused of the 2025 deadly shooting of 37-year-old Kara Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments in April 2025. She claims the shooting was in self-defense. Smith faces charges of second-degree murder, child endangerment,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The state presented more witness testimony Tuesday as the jury trial for a deadly 2025 Holts Summit shooting continues. This testimony included new information on both Smith’s retelling of events and the whereabouts of Dills’ gun following the shooting. A 12-person jury was picked Monday to decide the fate of 38-year-old Heather
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BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ) A Cooper County judge denied bond for the leader of a “cult-like” Amish community after new charges, including manslaughter, were filed against him this week. Sam Shetler, 42, of Boonville, appeared Tuesday in front of Judge Keith Bail after the new charges were added for a previously scheduled bond reduction hearing. Bail
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A 16-year-old boy will face the adult criminal justice system after he was charged with murder and other crimes Tuesday in connection with a robbery and shooting last June. Deshawn D. Brown of Columbia was charged Tuesday with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and second-degree murder in the killing of Zarian Simpson.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman who reached a deal with the state to drop a manslaughter charge for a deadly Columbia hit-and-run crash was sentenced to a short jail stay and probation Tuesday. Judge Ben Miller sentenced Elizabeth Lopez to seven years in prison on three hit-and-run charges, but the judge suspended the sentence, with
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Holts Summit woman charged with a slew of felonies, including murder, for a shooting outside an apartment building will not go to trial this week. Heather Smith’s trial on child endangerment, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and second-degree murder charges had been scheduled to start Friday, but was
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Pulaski County woman has been charged with murder after allegedly killing her boyfriend on Friday. Lea Ann Barba, 42, was charged Friday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Court documents state deputies were called to a home near Dixon on Friday afternoon for an unresponsive person after a gun was
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County judge denied a bond amendment Friday for the first man arrested in connection with a deadly Columbia shooting earlier this week. Damarius Kavanaugh, 19, of Columbia, was charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, illegal gun possession and tampering with physical evidence after William Riechers, 20, of Columbia, was
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