Category: kmiz-local-news

Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man accused of killing his wife during an argument over marital infidelity will appear in court for the first time Friday.

Malang J. Akbari, 46, was charged Tuesday with murdering his wife, Manhaz Akbari, by stabbing her to death in their home on East McCarty Street. Court documents say Malang Akbari suspected his wife of cheating. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder, child endangerment and armed criminal action.

An Amber Alert was sent out for Akbari’s 18-month-old son and a 12-year-old, but the alert was later canceled. The baby was found safe at a relative’s house, and it’s not clear where the older child was found.

Akbari incident reportDownload

An adult child found Manhaz Akbari stabbed to death in the house after a call from Malang Akbari admitting to the killing. Malang Akbari had already fled the house with the children, according to court documents.

The adult child called 911. Police blocked off part of the street during the daylong investigation.

Multiple neighbors told ABC 17 News that Akbari moved to the United States from Afghanistan. The family attended First UMC church in Jefferson City, and Pastor Trevor Dancer wrote to ABC 17 News that the church helped the family resettle in Jefferson City.

“Like the other families, Malang Jan had worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan — serving, as I understand it, as a translator,” Dancer wrote. “Because of that service, he and his family became targets of the Taliban. The U.S. military brought them here as asylum seekers for their safety.

Dancer said the family seemed to be integrating, and the church’s focus is on helping the children recover after the killing.

“For most of the time, this family was average members of our community,” Dancer wrote. “They went to work and school. That was their hope coming here and remains the hope of the children.”

Malang Akbari remained in the Cole County Jail on Wednesday. He has been denied bond.

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Matthew Sanders

UPDATE: The charges in which Peterson is facing have been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who was arrested on Wednesday after an hours-long standoff has been charged with multiple felonies.

Travis Peterson, 44, was charged with first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree harassment and resisting arrest. A court date has not been scheduled. He is being held without bond.

Police announced they arrested a man before 2 p.m. Wednesday. Peterson’s information was not listed on the Boone County Jail’s online roster on Wednesday afternoon and a mugshot was not available.

Police were called at 9:17 a.m. to the 3300 block of Parker Street for a report of shots fired after Peterson allegedly fired a round in the middle of the street at his girlfriend, the statement says. Peterson’s girlfriend in court documents claimed the two had been arguing about “who needed to leave,” the statement says.

The victim went to leave the home and allegedly felt “something” pressed against the back of her head, turned around and saw Peterson had a gun, the statement says. Peterson allegedly said “what would it be like if I shot you right now,” court documents say.

The victim allegedly walked to Peterson’s work truck, which had “Socket” written on the side, and peterson fired the round, the statement says. The victim believes he fired the shot into the ground, the statement says.

Video recorded by the victim allegedly showed the Peterson threatening to shoot her, the statement says.

Several cars from the Columbia Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were at the scene in the 3300 block of Parker Street. At least one armored police vehicle was at the scene.

CPD spokesman Colin Imhoff said the suspect threatened to shoot police but no one was hurt before, during or after the incident.

The response led nearby Albert-Oakland Middle School to keep students and staff inside the building while police worked. Columbia Public Schools later updated families to let them know school would dismiss at the normal time.

Police closed the street and issued a shelter-in-place order. The suspect was armed, but there were no hostages, the CPD spokesman said. Court documents say Petersont has a prior criminal history, which includes out-of-state charges for domestic offenses.

CPD wrote on its social media that nearby residents could return to their homes.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A trailer northwest of Columbia was the scene of a fire investigation early Wednesday.

The Boone County Fire Protection District was called to the 5800 block of North Oneal Road at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday after a trailer was set on fire over a dispute, Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said.

Boone County firefighters, along with deputies from the sheriff’s office, were at the scene.

No one was hurt.

Fire officials said no one was on scene when they arrived.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one was hurt after a trailer caught fire in Boone County Wednesday morning.

Boone County Fire Protection District crews were called to a fire at North Oneal Road and West Fenton Road around 5:45 a.m. The road was temporarily closed, but has since reopened.

Boone County Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp told ABC 17 News crews there were no injuries and nobody was on scene when fire crews arrived.

Law enforcement is investigating the scene.

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Matthew Sanders

Gov. Mike Kehoe gave his second State of the State Address before a combined session of the Missouri General Assembly on Tuesday.

Among the priorities stated by the Republican governor are budget cuts of about $600 million, along with a move toward ending Missouri’s income tax. Kehoe also issued several executive orders, including one that created a government efficiency group called Missouri GREAT.

You can watch his full speech here.

What do you think of Keheo going into his second year? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An underground stormwater project will require the City of Columbia to close a portion of South Rock Quarry Road at the end of the month.

A Tuesday press release from the city says the road will close between its intersection with East Nifong Boulevard and Telluride Lane to replace a failed stormwater pipe beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Work is expected to be completed by 7 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2.

Road closure and detour signs will be posted.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Fulton mom has been charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after she allegedly put methamphetamine in her child’s backpack on Monday.

Alexus Peppers-Wright, 28, was charged on Tuesday in Callaway County with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and misdemeanor illegally possessing drug paraphernalia. She is being held at the Callaway County Jail on a $45,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called to Bush Elementary in Fulton at 12:40 p.m. Monday about possible drugs being found in a child’s backpack. The student allegedly told someone – described as a witness – that “mom accidentally put these in my backpack and I don’t know what to do with them they have drugs in them,” the statement says.

Three people described as witnesses found a “zipper pouch” that had two syringes and a substance that tested positive as methamphetamine, the statement says.

Peppers-Wright showed up to the school at 2:48 p.m. and allegedly claimed to have known what was in the backpack, but claimed drugs in the bag belonged to a friend, the statement says. The zipper bag had “Property of Lexi” written on the side with a black Sharpie, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Sedalia man has been charged with manslaughter in Morgan County in relation to a Sept. 16 crash that killed two people.

Ruvim Izotia was charged on Monday with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, two counts of driving while using a phone, one count of second-degree assault and three misdemeanors: Driving while using an electronic device, following another vehicle too closely and speeding.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on Monday and a $100,000 bond was set.   

The probable cause statement claims Izotia caused the crash with his Mercedes. Previous reporting shows an 18-year-old Sedalia man allegedly rear-ended a 2013 Mercedes-Benz Class S a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by a 48-year-old Cole Camp woman. The crash occurred on Highway 50 near Old Highway 50.

The hit pushed the Chevrolet into the oncoming lane, which caused another crash into a 2012 Mazda 3 – driven by a 38-year-old Russellville man, the report says.

The Russellville man was pronounced dead at the scene, while a 45-year-old Versailles man who was a passenger was pronounced dead at a hospital.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper requested data from each vehicle, which allegedly showed the Chevrolet slow down from 57 miles per hour to 28 miles per hour, and then speed up again by 25 miles per hour after it was hit, the statement says.

Information from Life360 allegedly indicated there were 19 “distracted driving events” involving Izotia’s phone during the 21-minute trip, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Wellsville man was charged with two felonies after he was accused of sexually abusing a girl on Dec. 7.

Noah Smith, 18, was charged on Monday in Montgomery County with first-degree sodomy and sex abuse. He is being held at the jail without bond, though a mugshot was not immediately available. An arraignment was held on Tuesday and Smith appeared by video from the jail. A counsel status hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 and an attorney asked for a bond to be set.

The probable cause statement says the victim was given alcohol by another person described as “Suspect 2.” Court filings show a woman, Elizabeth Mize, gave alcohol to the minor victim and other youth.

Mize was charged with two counts of misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor and a summons was issued for her on Tuesday.

The statement says the victim allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .11, which is higher than the legal limit to drive. Court documents claim Smith assaulted the victim twice and the victim had to remove his hands from various areas of her body.

During the last occurrence, the victim allegedly kicked Smith and locked herself in a bathroom to avoid him, the statement says. Once a ride arrived for the victim, Smith allegedly refused to let her leave, the statement says.

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Haley Swaino

COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A late Cole County farmer owners’ land is set to be auctioned on Feb. 7, even though he intended it to become a county park.

After a large group of family, friends and neighbors of Lawrence Renn Jr. showed up to continue their fight to stop the sale of the Elston farmland at Tuesday’s commission meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to reopen talks with Renn’s trust bank.

Renn created a trust that stated 178 acres of his farm — located off Route T and Elston Road in Elston– would be leased to the county after his death for $1 a year. He died in 2021. But the county broke the 99-year lease after the bank told them how much money was available to develop and maintain the park.

“When we asked if there were going to be some funds available to help us develop this, we were told no,” Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said. “The land was basically his gift and that would be like $15,000-to-$20,000.”

Bushman said taking that much money out of the county parks budget would not be doable.

“We did not have the funds to do it, so that is why we notified Hawthorn trust that we respectfully declined this gift,” Bushman said.

The county then went to court and withdrew from the trust, and the bank put the land up for auction.

But family and friends insisted millions was in the bank, specifically intended for the park.

“There’s some miscommunication between the bank and Cole County about the amount of funds available for the development of this park,” neighbor Tony Brenneke said.

Bushman said he reached out to the bank last week about the money available.

“It’s the same amount last week they gave me that they gave us in 2024,” Bushman said. “The $3-to-$4 million, I don’t know where it is or what it can be used for, but it’s not being offered for the park.”

And that’s the issue commissioners are hoping Hawthorn Bank will sit down and clarify for them before the land is sold.

“If they say, ‘No, this $3-to-$4 million is going to be used for this or something else and it’s not available for you,’ then so be it,” Bushman said. “A lot’s going to hinge on what conversations we can perhaps have with Hawthorn Bank before Feb. 7.”

Tony Brenneke said there is one glaring concern that could cost them the land.

“One big question that we’re left is is kind of why Hawthorn Bank not being 100% forthcoming with the county about what assets are available to develop this park,” Brenneke said.

The group at Tuesday’s meeting left clapping and thanking the commission, hopeful the bank will be receptive to talks.

“Conversations between the bank and grantor, Lawrence Renn, before his passing as well as certain language in the trust, mandated that the trust was not to be the sole source of funding for the development and maintenance of the park and that it be a collaborative effort between the trust and the county,” Hawthorn Bank said in a statement.

The bank said its worked over the past few years to exhaust all options, while still maintaining the language in his trust.

“Ultimately, both the Cole County Commission and Missouri State Parks declined to accept the gift of the conveyance of the land for the park, citing insufficient personnel and funding to undertake such a project,” the statement said.

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