Prosecutor claims gun found in Renick murder case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -

Prosecutors in a case over a Montgomery County snake breeder's death said they found the weapon they believe his wife used to kill him.

Assistant Attorney General Kevin Zoellner revealed that the state recovered the piece of evidence during Lynlee Renick's pre-trial hearing Friday afternoon. Zoellner said the state worked with recently convicted co-defendant Michael Humphrey to find the gun that had gone missing for years.

Law enforcement believes Lynlee Renick shot her husband, Ben Renick, on their Montgomery County property near New Florence on June 8, 2017. A jury found her ex-boyfriend, Michael Humphrey, guilty of first-degree murder for helping Lynlee Renick with the plot to kill Ben. Prosecutors claimed Humphrey supplied the gun for the crime. Humphrey claimed in interviews with the Missouri State Highway Patrol that Lynlee brought the gun to the property that day.

Zoellner did not share any details on where investigators found the gun. He said law enforcement met with Humphrey and his attorneys Friday to discuss the case. Zoellner declined to comment further after the hearing.

Humphrey's attorneys, Brianne Besheer and T.J. Hunsaker, confirmed that Humphrey had been working with the state this week. They declined to say what exactly they discussed or where investigators might have found a potential weapon.

Tim Hesemann, Lynlee Renick's attorney, said he questioned the credibility of Humphrey's statements. He said he would review the new piece of evidence ahead of the Dec. 6 trial, where Humphrey may testify. He is set to be sentenced on Jan. 3.

Humphrey told patrol investigators after his arrest that he took Lynlee Renick from her spa in Columbia to Montgomery County the day of Ben's death. He said Lynlee tried to give him a gun when they got to the farm, but he refused to take it. Humphrey said he did not see the gun again after Lynlee allegedly used it.