Convicted murderer has appeal sent back down to circuit court

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was convicted of murder in the 2022 death of a woman near the Interstate 70/Highway 63 connector in Columbia had his appeal sent back to a circuit court.

Jessie Williams, 33, was found guilty by a jury on May 16, 2024, of second-degree murder in the October 2022 death of Kaylen Schmit. He is accused of pushing Schmit off the Highway 63 bridge near Clark Lane. Schmit, 24, fell 38 feet into a wooded area and died hours later at a hospital.

He was sentenced to life in prison on July 29, 2024, and appealed the decision. The court came to its conclusion on Feb. 24, but the opinion was published on Wednesday.

The appellate court ruled that the circuit court did not make an error in overruling Williams’ attempt to suppress redacted video. The court did rule, however, that the circuit court made a clerical error in logging Williams’ life sentence as “999 years.”  

Williams is being held at Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Missouri.