Jury finds Columbia man guilty of murder in stabbing death

A Boone County jury found a Columbia man guilty of second degree murder Wednesday in a 2014 stabbing death.

Anthony Shegog is accused of stabbing Walter Lige to death on October 6, 2014 in central Columbia. He was charged with second degree murder in Boone County.

Opening statements got underway Tuesday afternoon. The state argued Shegog plunged a knife into Lige causing his death, and it was Shegog’s purpose to cause serious injury or death.

The defense said Shegog fell asleep on that day, woke up, and saw a body lying near his home, and that no one can say they saw Shegog stab Lige.

The state then called 13 witnesses to the stand including Lige’s wife, 7 members of the Columbia Police Department, the medical examiner, two DNA analysts and more.

One witness, Dr. Edward Adelstein who performed the autopsy on Lige, said the manner of death was ruled as a homicide. One stab would was found on Lige’s abdomen, which led to internal bleeding causing his death. The medical examiner determined it was most likely a narrow thin knife that made the wound. After being stabbed, Adelstein estimated that Lige could have lived and walked around for up to 8-10 minutes.

Another witness, Detective Alan Mitchell with the Columbia Police Department, explained what officers found in Shegog’s apartment after obtaining a search warrant. Detectives initially observed a knife on the kitchen counter that was wet with spots of what appeared to be blood on the blade. They found a gray jacket on the counter that contained a wallet with Lige’s driver’s license inside. Detectives also found a damp mop that appeared to have been used recently.

After the state rested its case, the defense called five witnesses to the stand. Witnesses included a medical examiner from St. Louis City, three Columbia police officers and a medical examiner investigator.

One witness, Gamal Castile with the Columbia Police Department, responded to the scene the afternoon of the stabbing. Gamal said he had responded to another house in the area numerous times for violence and would not be surprised to hear of a stabbing at that home.

Shegog’s two prior criminal offenses will play a part in his sentencing, Boone County Assistant Prosecutor Brouck Jacobs said.

“In 2004, this defendant stabbed a man in the leg and stole his wallet,” Jacobs said. “The jury, quite rightly, doesn’t have the benefit of hearing that at the trial stage. But we’re going to be talking about that at sentencing. And that’s gonna be a big factor in what we ask the judge to sentence this defendant to.”

Shegog could face up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing is set for November 2nd.