Columbia cold case murder suspect’s extradition might take weeks
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 2000 Columbia murder suspect may not be brought back to Boone County for another month, according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office.
Sentrell Wilson, 45, of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, is charged with first-degree murder in Boone County for the 2000 death of University of Missouri student Candace Richie. Wilson was arrested in South Carolina on Feb. 23 and is being held at the Spartanburg County Jail.
Wilson's extradition was ordered on Feb. 24, but Capt. Brian Leer with the Boone County Sheriff's Office said it could take more than 30 days to bring Wilson back to Boone County if he does not fight the order. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster's office said Tuesday that it had not received the extradition order.
A joint investigation by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Section and the Columbia Police Department led to Wilson's arrest 26 years later. CPD's cold case team had been re-investigating Richie's death since 2019, and in early 2025, the AG's Cold Case Section got involved after a member of the victim’s family met with CPD and officials from the AG's office, Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Roger Johnson.
The Cold Case Section is headquartered in Jefferson City with three attorneys, three investigators, one paralegal and a secretary on staff.
"They come to us and ask us to take a fresh look at the facts and maybe do some additional investigation," said Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.
The section was started by former Attorney General Eric Schmitt in 2020. Hanaway said the unit takes on cases through referrals.
"They come from prosecutor's offices, they come from victims, which is a big one, they come from police officers who might have been involved," Hanaway said.
CPD Assistant Chief Lance Bolinger previously told ABC 17 News that Richie and Wilson were in a relationship at the time of her death. Police were originally called to the 2300 block of Whitegate Drive in February 2000 for a death investigation, where they found Richie dead. After receiving the report from the medical examiner's office, police determined the death was a homicide.
CPD interviewed Wilson in 2000, but an arrest was not made at the time due to concerns about the ability to establish a clear medical cause of death, according to Bolinger.
Hanaway said the AG's Cold Case Section started with a little more than 50 cases statewide and has closed out 11 cold cases so far.
"Resolved one way or another, sometimes bringing charges, sometimes knowing that there's not any charges to be brought," Hanaway said.
There are 29 cold cases still being investigated, according to Hanaway.
CPD is investigating 17 unsolved homicide cases with 19 victims dating back to 1985. ABC 17 News has covered nine cases in our "Mid-Missouri's Cold Case Files" reporting. Tune in Wednesday to ABC 17 News at six for our 10th cold case on the unsolved 2011 stabbing death of Timothy Jones.
