Court documents: Man admits to killing wife in Columbia in 2006
A man told police he killed his wife in Columbia and reported her missing in 2006, according to court documents filed in Boone County on Monday.
Keith A. Comfort walked into a police department in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on Sunday and asked to talk to police about a mental health issue. Comfort then told an officer that on Aug. 4, 2006, he was working when he received a call from his wife Megan N. Shultz. Comfort told police Shultz said she had done a narcotics transaction and “ripped someone off,” court documents said.
Comfort told police that when he arrived at the apartment in the 1700 block of Amelia Street in 2006, Shultz was frantic and swinging her arms. Comfort then told police that he strangled Shultz, and when he realized she wasn’t breathing, he put her body in a garbage bag and put it in the dumpster at the apartment complex, court documents said.
Comfort then filed a missing persons report with the Columbia Police Department on Aug. 5, 2006, court documents said.
Comfort was charged with second-degree murder, and Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Knight requested a $1 million cash bond.
“All cases are unique, one way or another,” Knight said. “The circumstances where you have someone come into a police station and accept responsibility thirteen years later, yes… That is unusual.”
It’s possible for prosecutors to change the second degree murder charge, according to Knight. He added that their investigation is in its early stages.
“We’re going to work very hard in this, and we’re going to try our best to make sure that justice is achieved,” Knight said.
Shultz’s mother, Debra Shultz, said she has suspected Comfort of killing her daughter since she was reported missing in 2006.
“Keith could smile and put on the charm, but he was a very troubled young man,” Shultz said. “(He) had it down to an art of lying and smiling.”
Columbia police issued a statement Monday saying officers “are currently en route to Lake Geneva to interview Comfort.” A department spokesperson said it would not release any more details on the investigation or the missing persons case.
