Columbia man gets 30-year prison sentence for murder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was sentenced to 30 years in state prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to a Christmas 2023 murder.

Jeffrey E. Skaggs pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child endangerment before Judge Brouck Jacobs. Jacbos sentenced Skaggs to 30 years in prison for murder and seven years for child endangerment.

The sentences will be served concurrently. Skaggs will receive credit for time served.

Skaggs was charged in January 2024 with the death of a 41-year-old woman in the 6000 block of East O'Rear Road. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim. That June, a grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder.

Skaggs allegedly admitted to assaulting the woman moments before she died, according to court documents. Deputies say a video recording from the victim’s cellphone showed part of the assault, which allegedly showed Skaggs assaulting the woman while she was holding her 1-year-old child.