Boone County prosecutor to dismiss murder case against JT McLean

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Prosecutors in Boone County will dismiss a murder case against a man found dead last week in South Dakota.

Boone County Prosecutor Dan Knight told ABC 17 News on Wednesday that he plans to dismiss the case against JT McLean. The Boone County Sheriff's Office sent a notice on Tuesday that McLean had died last week.

McLean was the suspect in a double murder south of Columbia on Aug. 22. Deputies believe McLean strangled Allison Abitz and drowned her daughter, Jozee. Investigators said McLean was Allison Abitz's longtime boyfriend. Allison Abitz was a teacher in Fulton Public Schools, where Jozee was a student.

Knight charged McLean with two counts of first-degree murder on Aug. 25. Law enforcement in South Dakota said McLean shot himself Sept. 8 in a truck he stole from Miller County, which belonged to two other people he's suspected of killing.

Capt. Brian Leer with the Boone County Sheriff's Office said last week the murder investigation would continue despite McLean's death. The department, along with the Miller County Sheriff's Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol, planned to travel to South Dakota to pick up evidence found in the truck McLean stole.