![](https://abc17news.b-cdn.net/abc17news.com/2021/08/MGN_1280x960_10816P00-PCWKE-375x225.jpg)
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you support the death penalty?
Lethal injection has come under scrutiny in recent years on ethical and constitutional grounds.
Continue ReadingLethal injection has come under scrutiny in recent years on ethical and constitutional grounds.
Continue ReadingCOLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Randolph County Sheriff’s Department continues to search for an inmate after she used another inmate’s identity to escape the jail Saturday. On Saturday morning, 24-year-old Ellen Renay Goble was held on five charges at the Randolph County Jail when she used the other inmate’s personal information to escape. The jail was
Continue ReadingDarrin Dale Smithee, 55, of Auxvasse, faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to one count of manufacturing marijuana and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Continue ReadingBy JIM SALTER Associated Press The Missouri Supreme Court has refused to halt the October execution of a man convicted of a triple killing who claimed his intellectual disability made him ineligible for the death penalty. Ernest Lee Johnson  is scheduled to die by injection Oct. 5 at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It
Continue ReadingCOLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The FBI released new hate crime statistics for 2020 on Monday, showing Missouri reported it’s most since 2011. The state of Missouri, in 2020, reported 115 hate crimes, up compared to the 89 in 2019. Here is how the numbers break down for the last 10 years: 2020: 1152019: 892018: 662017: 1042016:
Continue ReadingA woman was arrested Sunday after an investigation into an attempt to smuggle drugs into Jefferson City Correctional Center using a balloon.
Continue ReadingJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Three juveniles were arrested Sunday afternoon after Cole County deputies responded to a possible stolen vehicle from Hazelwood in Jefferson City. Deputies pulled the vehicle over at Big Horn and Charm Ridge. The deputy was walking up to the vehicle when the driver sped off. A chase ensued but stopped a
Continue ReadingIn documents detailing the two first-degree murder charges against JT McLean, police say a witness, a supermarket receipt and neighborhood surveillance videos connect McLean to the scene where Allison Abitz, 43, and her daughter, Jozee Abitz, 11, were found dead in their home just south of Columbia on Aug. 22.
Continue ReadingCOLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Police Department is reporting a rise in stolen catalytic converters in the area. According to a report, there was a total of 78 catalytic converters stolen in 2020 and 96 so far for this year. Thieves steal the catalytic converter because of the precious metals in them. Converters contain platinum,
Continue ReadingJeffrey McWilliams is suspected in the death of Augustus Roberts, who died at a home in the 1900 block of Lasso Circle on Dec. 11, 2017. He is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.
Continue ReadingBy SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of a new state law forbidding local police from enforcing federal gun laws. Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green on Friday punted the case. He wrote that constitutional questions need to be addressed in other
Continue ReadingMark L. Martin, 57, of Columbia was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree harassment, a felony. Police in a news release Thursday said a girl reported Martin trying to lure her into his truck at a bus stop at Hyde Park Avenue and Cooper Drive in south Columbia.
Continue ReadingA Jefferson City man was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a March 2020 shooting in the 200 block of McCarty Street.
Continue ReadingFULTON, Mo. (KMIZ) Mourners gathered in Fulton to remember the lives of two people killed over the weekend in Boone County. Cars filled the parking lots of Southside Baptist Church as people gathered for Allison and Jozee Abitz. Church officials did not allow ABC 17 News into the vigil, saying it wanted to respect the
Continue ReadingThe Columbia police arrested a man Thursday after an attempted kidnapping in the area of Hyde Park Avenue and Cooper Drive.
Continue ReadingA prosecutor has charged a Linn man after a chase that reaches speeds in excess of 100 mph through Cole County Tuesday.
Continue ReadingQuatavia Givens was indicted Wednesday on first-degree murder, child endangerment and abandoning a corpse charges in the death of Darnell Gray after he dropped the previous charges, which included second-degree murder, according to a Jefferson City Police Department news release.
Continue ReadingThe man accused of murdering a Fulton teacher and her daughter not only has previous run-ins with the law, but also previous familial disputes, including threats of violence.
Continue ReadingBoone County prosecutors charged JT McLean with two counts of first-degree murder Wednesday in the deaths of his girlfriend, Allison Abitz, 43, and her daughter, Jozee Abitz, 11, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The sheriff’s office said McLean was the last person to see them alive but released no other details about the investigation.
Continue ReadingLAKE OZARK, Mo. (KMIZ) The School of the Osage says it will cooperate with law enforcement after its former school resource officer was charged. Prosecutors charged Jenna Jackson for allegedly sending nude photos of herself to a student and having a sexual relationship. The school district put out a statement today saying it first learned
Continue Reading