A man facing Moniteau County murder charges is in custody

A murder charge has been filed in the case of a missing Jefferson City man nearly five years after his body was found.

Moniteau County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Kay Lutz said Friday that she has charged Aaron Irwin with first-degree murder in the killing of Cody Thirlwall. A hunter found Thirlwall’s body near Enon in Moniteau County. He was 32 years old at the time of his death.

The Moniteau County jail administrator confirmed Aaron Irwin was in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections Friday evening.

A hunter found his decomposing body, pushed under a tree.

Thirlwall’s mother, Peggy Evans, said she is thankful for the investigators work in the case.

“We thought for a while, he was just swept under the rug,” Evans said. “We never gave up hope, but we didn’t think they were pursing it near as hard as they were.”

His sister, Andrea Thirlwall, said the family still has many unanswered questions.

“I don’t think we will ever really have closure,” Andrea Thirlwall said. “We’re never gonna fully know what happened.”

Lutz did not immediately provide other details about the case. Information about the case was not available in an online court records search.

At the time Thirlwall was reported missing relatives said they had not seen him in several weeks.

Look for updates to this developing story.

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