Hearing scheduled for next week in 1991 Cole County murder case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A hearing was scheduled on Monday for Cole County murder case dating back to 1991.

William “Chris” Niemet, of Fulton, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his Russellville classmate Greg Jones in April 1991.

Jones was 14. Niemet also would have been 14 at the time. Niemet was charged in 2020 with first-degree murder. The trial has been delayed multiple times.

An arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Cole County Courthouse. The hearing comes after the case was reinstated after a second dismissal that occurred last month. Judge Emily Fretwell had dismissed charges against William “Chris” Niemet on Aug. 11 and was ordered by the attorney general to reinstate the case.

The same situation occurred in July, with Fretwell using the same reasoning that the AG’s office did not have proper authority to handle the case.