New special prosecutor will be appointed in Columbia officer’s manslaughter case
Attorneys agreed in a court hearing Friday morning that a new special prosecutor will be appointed in a Columbia police officer’s manslaughter case.
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Columbia man faces tampering with witnesses charges in homicide case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County grand jury has indicted a man accused of trying to hire someone to commit murder. According to court documents, Mehrdad Fotoohighiam trying to pressure witnesses in the case against him to not work with the prosecution. Fotoohighiam now faces two additional charges of tampering or attempted tampering with a
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Missouri judge says public defender waitlist unfair
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge says the wait time for some poor defendants to get legal help is unconstitutional. Circuit Judge Will Hickle in an order said a group of poor defendants likely will succeed in a class-action lawsuit against the state. The defendants’ attorneys say some waited in jail for months before
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Missouri medical marijuana lawyers worry about discipline
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Attorneys who represent medical marijuana clients say they are concerned about possible discipline under a directive issued by the state Supreme Court in June. The directive says attorneys cannot participate in, or advise clients on participating in, anything that is illegal under federal law, even if they are legal under
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Hannah Fizer’s father files wrongful death lawsuit against deputy
SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) John Fizer, the father of Hannah Fizer, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against deputy Jordan Schutte Wednesday. The deputy killed the 25-year-old during a traffic stop in June. The deputy had told investigators that Fizer said she had a gun in the car and she said she was going to shoot him.
Continue Reading U.S. Attorney in western Missouri submits resignation
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison, of the Western District of Missouri, says he will resign, effective Feb. 28. Garrison’s resignation was expected after the U.S. Justice Department and President Joe Biden asked all U.S. attorneys to resign by the end of February so the new administration could begin replacing the political
Continue Reading Slater woman charged with abandoning a corpse
SLATER, Mo. (KMIZ) A Slater woman is accused of abandoning a corpse after a body was found over a month since the person was last seen. According to a probable cause statement, Deseray Heyer is accused of the crime after a woman’s body was found last Wednesday at 242 East Emma Street in Slater. Heyer
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Columbia man sentenced to four years for abandonment of a corpse
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man has been sentenced to prison for abandoning his wife’s body. The Boone County prosecutor’s office says Frank Spencer received a four-year sentence today after he pleaded guilty to abandonment of a corpse. According to court documents, he buried the body of his wife Nikki Lee Boring behind a home
Continue Reading Former Centralia police officer sentenced eight years for trying to have sex with teen
CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former Centralia officer Clint Baer was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty in October, to try and have sex with a minor. According to a release, Baer began talking to someone he believed to be the mother of a 14-year-old girl through a social networking site. Â Over the
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Cole County murder suspect wants evidence kept out of trial
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) – The suspect in a 1991 Cole County murder case wants several pieces of evidence left out of a future trial. The requests filed by attorneys for William “Chris” Niemet include leaving out newly-tested evidence for DNA, a 1991 lie detector test and witness statements made about a possible weapon used
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Federal court to hear Cole County child pornography case
A federal court will hear a case involving a Fulton man arrested on multiple counts after a teen found a hidden camera in their bedroom.
Continue Reading Family seeks settlement in fatal Boone County crash
The family of a man that died in an October 2020 motorcycle wreck is seeking a settlement from the insurance company of the person who killed him.
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McKinsey to pay nearly $600 million in settlements over its work with opioid companies
McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s largest consulting firms, will pay nearly $600 million in multiple settlements over its work consulting for drug companies that states say fueled the nation’s opioid crisis. McKinsey reached the agreement with a coalition of 47 attorneys general, the District of Columbia and five US territories. The company settled
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Trial date set for Joseph Elledge in Mengqi Ji case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man accused of killing his wife could head to trial this fall. The jury trial for Joseph Elledge is scheduled to start at the Boone County Courthouse on Nov. 1st. Prosecutors have charged him with first-degree murder in the disappearance of Mengqi Ji. He reported her missing back in October
Continue Reading Missouri graduate to share in invention profits under deal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri graduate who said his professor stole his invention for a drug delivery system will share in its profits under a settlement that also gives the University of Missouri System a cut of the revenue. The Kansas City Star reports that Kishore Cholkar will get at least $1.4 million
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Appeals Court reverses 2019 ruling about guns on MU’s campus and where they can be kept
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A state appeals court has reversed a 2019 ruling about guns on Mizzou’s campus. The ruling now allows employees to bring guns on campus but the weapons must stay in their vehicles and hidden from sight. A University of Missouri professor filed a lawsuit in 2015 after he wanted to keep his
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Gov. Parson appoints Christopher K. Limbaugh as associate circuit judge for the 19th judicial circuit
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Governor Mike Parson has appointed Christopher K. Limbaugh as Associate Circuit Judge for the 19th Judicial Circuit. Limbaugh currently serves as general counsel – chief legal officer for Gov. Parson. Limbaugh started his career in private practice in his hometown of Cape Girardeau. Former Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Limbaugh to be
Continue Reading Missouri’s second female Supreme Court judge retiring
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith is retiring. Stith said Tuesday that her last day will be March 8. Stith was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2001 by former Democratic Gov. Bob Holden. She was only the second woman to be appointed to the high court. She was
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Former California, Mo. officers file lawsuit against city after being ‘wrongfully discharged’
CALIFORNIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Three former California Missouri police officers filed a lawsuit against the department this week. According to court documents, former officers Jared Allen, Nick Stobbart were fired and Christopher Tew quit the police department after they reported criminal evidence being mishandled. The trio claim in court filings that the police chief, captain, and
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Columbia man charged with 2nd-degree murder after overdose investigation
EDITOR’S NOTE: The spelling of the suspect’s name has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A September 2020 overdose investigation leads to charges of 2nd-degree murder for a Columbia man already in custody. Columbia police began the investigation on Sept. 4, 2020 after they responded to a 29-year-old man in cardiac arrest. While on scene, police
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