Mistrial declared in Cole County murder trial
A Cole County jury has declared a mistrial in the case against Devin Schrimpf.
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Jury finds man guilty for role in Ben Renick killing
The jury in the first-degree murder trial against Michael Humphrey on Wednesday watched an interview Humphrey did with the Missouri State Highway Patrol on the day of his 2020 arrest. Humphrey told Master Sgt. Marcus Reynolds he did not know of Lynlee Renick’s plan to kill her husband, Ben Renick, when the two traveled to the Renicks’ Montgomery County farm in 2017.
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Jury hears arguments in the second day of mid-Missouri snake breeder murder trial
MONTGOMERY CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A jury heard arguments on the second day of a murder trial over the death of a mid-Missouri snake breeder. Michael Humphrey appeared in court as he faces charges in the death of Ben Renick in Montgomery County. Lynlee Renick who was married to Ben is also charged with his death,
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Moniteau County murder suspect to be arraigned Monday
James Collier is scheduled to be arraigned on murder and assault charges on Monday.
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Jury selection wraps up in Montgomery County reptile breeder murder case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Jury selection wrapped up today in the case against a man accused of killing a Montgomery County reptile breeder. Michael Humphrey is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ben Renick. Humphrey and his ex-girlfriend Lynlee Renick are accused of killing Ben back in 2017. Jury selection for the trial happened
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Columbia homicide victim owned Mid-Missouri businesses
ABC 17 News discovered James Hundle, 52, owned Ruckus Bar and Grill and Splasher’s Laundromat in Columbia for several years. Both businesses have since changed hands, but one former employee of Hundle’s remembered him as a good boss that enjoyed having fun.
Continue Reading California police say death investigation is murder case
The Moniteau County prosecutor charged James L. Collier on Wednesday with first-degree murder and assault of a special victim. California police called the Missouri State Highway Patrol early Wednesday for help with a death investigation in an apartment at 310 S. East St., according to a probable cause statement released by California police.
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Gabby Petito’s cause of death was strangulation, coroner says
Gabby Petito’s cause of death was ruled to be strangulation and the manner of death was homicide, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said on Tuesday.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY: Was justice served in the Ernest Johnson case?
Johnson had been convicted of the 1994 murders of Fred Jones, Mary Bratcher and Mable Scruggs in Columbia and had awaited execution for about 25 years.
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State executes Ernest Lee Johnson for Columbia triple murder; state releases last offender statement
The state executed Ernest Lee Johnson on Tuesday, 25 years after he killed three gas station workers and following a last-ditch effort by his lawyers to save him, The Associated Press reported.
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Rallies, vigils hope to stop Ernest Lee Johnson execution
Johnson is set to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. at a state prison in Bonne Terre for the 1994 murders of Mary Bratcher, Fred Jones and Mable Scruggs at a Columbia gas station.
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WATCH: Savannah Guthrie reports on Ernest Lee Johnson murders in 1994
These videos pulled from the ABC 17 News archive show the station’s original reporting in the aftermath of a 1994 triple murder at a Casey’s gas station.
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Former CPD officer recounts murders 27 years later as governor confirms plans to execute Ernest Johnson
Randy Boehm, a former Columbia police officer and chief, arrived at the Columbia Casey’s General Store 27 years ago, the morning after the horrific murders of three of the store’s employees.
Continue Reading Lawmakers, pope ask Missouri governor to halt execution
By JIM SALTER Associated Press Pope Francis has joined the chorus of people calling on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to grant clemency to a death row inmate who is set to be executed for killing three people during a 1994 convenience store robbery. Ernest Johnson is scheduled to die by injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday
Continue Reading A timeline of events in the Ernest Lee Johnson case
Ernest Lee Johnson’s path from a Casey’s General Store in northeast Columbia to an execution room in the Eastern Reception and Diagnostic Center in Bonne Terre took 27 years to travel.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY: Should the state execute Ernest Johnson?
Johnson was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to death for the murders of three Columbia convenience store workers with a claw hammer. Legal challenges to his sentence have failed. However, death penalty foes are asking the governor to intervene, saying Johnson is intellectually disabled.
Continue Reading Advocates urge governor to grant clemency in Columbia triple murder
Anti-death penalty advocates delivered a petition Wednesday asking the state to spare the life of Ernest Johnson, saying his intellectual disability makes it unconstitutional to execute the man convicted of a Columbia triple murder.
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Change of venue, new judge granted in Quatavia Givens case
A Cole County judge granted a change of venue and a request for a new judge for a woman charged in the 2018 death of a Jefferson City child.
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Boone County man pleads guilty in crash that killed Columbia pedestrian
Charles Waddill pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree involuntary manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash that caused a death and tampering with evidence.
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Truck stolen from Miller County homicide victims seen near Callaway County before victims found dead
The new detail in the cases surrounding McLean comes from a search warrant the Missouri State Highway Patrol requested for information from OnStar. Law enforcement wanted information from the General Motors-owned company to help track the movement of the Chevy Silverado truck Pam and Daniel Stephan owned.
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