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Investigators testify to start day two of Montgomery County snake breeder murder trial

Lynlee Renick
Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
Lynlee Renick

Watch the afternoon part of the trial replay in the player below.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators took the witness stand Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse to start the second day of a trial centering on a Montgomery County snake breeder's killing.

Lynlee Renick is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the deadly shooting of her husband, Ben Renick, at his snake-breeding facility in 2017. Prosecutors allege Lynlee Renick enlisted two friends in her plot to kill her husband after her spa had financial troubles. However, they accuse Lynlee Renick of pulling the trigger.

Lynlee Renick's alleged co-conspirators, Ashley Shaw and Michael Humphrey, testified for the prosecution on the trial's first day.

Prosecutors on Tuesday focused on Facebook messages between Lynlee and Ben in questioning one of the investigators. The messages show Ben Renick confronting his wife about her struggling business and telling her that he is expecting a large sum of cash from his snake-breeding business. Some of the messages showed Lynlee Renick confronting her husband, alleging he sexually abused her in her sleep.

Watch morning testimony from day two below

The murder case against Lynlee Renick is being heard in Boone County on a change of venue. The nine women and five men on the jury, including alternates, were brought in over the weekend from Clay County.

Lynlee Renick's defense team argues that Humphrey shot Ben Renick to death.

Prosecutors say Lynlee shot and killed her husband on their Montgomery County property on June 8, 2017. Before his death in early 2017, Ben Renick was in the process of selling his snake breeding business for $1.2 million.

Shaw reached a deal with prosecutors and was not charged in the murder.

A jury found Lynlee Renick's ex-boyfriend Michael Humphrey guilty of first-degree murder in October. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

Article Topic Follows: Crime

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Matthew Sanders

Matthew Sanders is the digital content director at ABC 17 News.

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