Columbia man pleads guilty to murdering his mother’s roommate
Olivia Hayes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man pleaded guilty to murdering his mother’s roommate in October 2022 on Friday.
Adam Conner, 40, appeared by video and changed his plea of not guilty to a plea of guilty before a Boone County judge. Conner was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Conner was sentenced to 30 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections plus credit for time served.
Conner’s mother called Columbia police to her home in the 1700 block of High Quest Drive on Oct. 10, 2022, for a welfare check. The woman said her roommate suffered from mental illness and wanted to make sure she wasn’t in the house.
While checking the residence, police began to investigate a suspicious death. Conner was also there when police went to perform the wellness check. In the courtroom Friday, the state said Conner lived in the home as well.
Officers found a closet in the garage with a 40-pound bag of birdseed in front of it. Police found a 58-year-old woman’s body inside the closet. The officer said the body was under a rug inside the closet with a wheelchair on top of it.
The victim was identified in court Friday as Patricia Kelly by a representative for the family. The representative in his victim impact statement said Kelly’s sister accepts Conner’s plea as justice for her.
According to the probable cause statement, police interviewed Conner, who allegedly said he last saw the Kelly early Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Police say Conner gave an inconsistent timeframe.
It was later determined that Kelly died from blunt force trauma to the head. Police interviewed Conner’s mother, who claimed Conner told her not to go into the garage on Oct. 8th when prosecutors believe the crime happened.
Trash bags filled with blood-soaked clothes were found in the backyard. One trash bag contained a bloody claw hammer that crime-scene investigators claimed was consistent with Kelly’s head trauma.
The GPS location of the Kelly’s Life Protect device was at the residence. The Columbia Fire Department was dispatched at 3:11 a.m. Oct. 8th. The device was allegedly pressed three times between 2:57 and 2:59 a.m., according to the statement.
An employee at the call center sent a message to the subscriber and heard “constant panting” but could not verify if the person was safe. court documents state. Columbia firefighters arrived at the home, and when they opened the garage, fire officials said a man, believed to be Conner, was on the phone and said the victim was at the hospital, according to court documents.