COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was charged Friday with arson and murder in a June house fire on Paris Road. Brandon Butchkoski, 47, is accused in the death of Donovan Baylis. Baylis died after he was burned in a fire that was set at his home. Baylis died about a month later at a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A judge ruled Friday that a victim’s invalid driver’s license will not be allowed as evidence in a Boone County manslaughter trial, but a decision on using a recording of the victim’s voice is yet to be made. Circuit judge Josh Devine heard arguments Friday ahead of the trial of Walter Montejo,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said during a news conference Tuesday that he will seek the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old from Utah accused of killing Charlie Kirk with a single shot from a high-powered rifle. Charges include aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and committing a violent offense
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Editor’s note: Language in this article have been clarified. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A St. James man was charged Tuesday with child endangerment in a 2022 incident in a backyard swimming pool. The Phelps County prosecutor charged Carl E. Swanson on Tuesday with a single count of child endangerment resulting in serious injuries, a Class B
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) An 18-year-old Columbia man was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison Monday in connection with a deadly shooting in May 2024. Cordero Riley Jr., 18, admitted to unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree assault in a plea deal with prosecutors in July that took a second-degree murder charge off the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A suspect in the deadly shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was identified Friday morning as a man from Utah. Kirk was killed on Wednesday on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, where he was kicking off a national speaking tour of college campuses. Investigators say he was shot in
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Editor’s note: The day of the indictment was corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Callaway County grand jury indicted a woman and her boyfriend on child endangerment charges Tuesday for the crash that killed the woman’s 3-year-old daughter. Leela M. James, 32, of Holts Summit, and Jessie Knehans, 29, each face a single count of first-degree
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man found not guilty of murder by a jury was sentenced to 10 years with credit for time served Tuesday morning at the Boone County Courthouse for another charge after his involvement in a deadly shooting at a Columbia club in 2023. Kimo Spivey was sentenced for illegal gun possession
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Prosecutors in Gasconade County have charged a Maries County man with two felonies after a crash that killed two people Sunday night. Tyler C. Schmidt of Belle was charged Tuesday with DWI causing two deaths and DWI causing serious physical injury. It wasn’t clear on Tuesday morning whether he was in custody.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Codefendants Samarion Robins, 20, and Oscar Ashford Jr., 21, were denied a bond reduction by a Boone County judge on Monday. Their Sept. 8 trial date was also pushed to Nov.18. The trial was pushed back after Judge Jeff Harris revealed that prosecutors handed more than 900 pages of discovery to the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two Columbia men charged in the 2017 murder of Augustus Roberts appeared in front of a Boone County judge Friday. Roberts is the son of a former Northeast Missouri judge. David C. Adams, 44, of Columbia, was arrested Thursday and charged Friday with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree murder and illegal gun
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Prosecutors have dropped a murder case against one of the four teen suspects in another teen’s Columbia killing. Boone County prosecutor Roger Johnson told ABC 17 News that the state dropped the case against 19-year-old Tavan Williams-Patrick. Johnson said prosecutors plan to refile charges later. Johnson declined to comment on why the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) While authorities and family members continue to search for answers, Columbia police are revealing new details about the homicide case of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. “Not knowing what happened to him is still troubling,” Randolph’s mother Nicole Craig said. “It’s still a struggle.” Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter. (Credit: Nicole Craig) Around
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Jefferson City Police Department detective will not be allowed to testify at a murder trial about what the suspect’s cellphone said about his whereabouts the day of the crime. The defense for Sergio Sayles, 39, has filed the motion to exclude the detective’s testimony. A hearing was held on Tuesday morning.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia/Boone County chapter of Crimestoppers typically offers rewards in cases involving warrants and drugs. However, the organization has a role in helping solve the city’s unsolved homicides, too. Crimestoppers board president and former Boone County Sheriff’s Office deputy John Fields said the local chapter was founded in 1980. Fields estimates the
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A state psychologist testified Friday that a woman charged with murdering a 4-year-old boy in Jefferson City in 2018 is mentally competent to go to trial. Tiffany Harris, a forensic examiner and senior psychologist for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, testified during a hearing in the Cole County Courthouse that
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Hartsburg man who admitted to killing his father was sentenced to life in prison Monday after a previous sentencing hearing was delayed. Collin Knight, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his father. Knight had previously agreed to a plea deal that
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman found dead Saturday night in her car was shot in her vehicle after an argument with her boyfriend, according to court documents. Isaiah N. Goins, 26, of Columbia, was arrested Sunday at work on suspicion of killing the woman, whose name has been kept under wraps by the sheriff’s department.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A 36-year-old man accused of running over a motorcyclist, who later died from his injuries, was charged Monday with murder. Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Roger Johnson told ABC 17 News in an email that charges against Donald J. Legleiter had been changed to include second-degree murder in the death of Jeffrie W.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Sentencing has been delayed for a Hartsburg man who pleaded guilty to killing his father in 2022. Collin Knight, 25, appeared in Boone County court via Webex on Friday for a sentencing hearing. Knight had previously agreed to a plea deal that would see him serve life in prison for second-degree murder
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