MO MO - Angela 'Mischelle' Lawless, 19, Benton, 8 Nov 1992

Kat

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I thought this was interesting. Please feel free to add more info if you wish and are interested.

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-8737223/CASE-CLOSED-THEN-REOPENED-Mischelle.html

Publication: St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Publication Date: 25-NOV-07

CASE CLOSED - THEN REOPENED Mischelle Lawless was found in her car in 1992, fatally shot. Joshua Kezer was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison. The officer who responded to the incident still has doubts.

The above and quote directly below is included in an excerpt of the article published in 2007.

So in early 2006, Walter did something almost unheard of in law enforcement: He reopened a murder case that was not only closed, but had already produced a conviction.

http://www.bnd.com/2011/10/12/1897256/sheriff-hopes-fingerprint-cracks.html

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011

Sheriff hopes fingerprint cracks I-55 cold case

Article linked directly above too short to snip.

Unusual to reopen a case that has a conviction already. I thought some here would find this interesting.
 
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/1618634...n-donates-10000-to-help-find-cold-case-killer

Posted: Dec 04, 2011 6:38 PM Updated: Dec 04, 2011 6:38 PM

By Holly Brantley



Wrongfully convicted man donates $10,000 to help find cold case killer


A new twist in the hunt for the real killer of Mischelle Lawless: Joshua Kezer, the man wrongfully accused of the Scott County murder, now decides to give the investigation a big boost.

"He wrote us a check for $10,000 to be used only to fund the Mischelle Lawless investigation," said Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter.
 
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/23700806/authorities-exhume-body-of-murder-victim-in-20-year-old-case

Could investigators’ newest search for clues finally solve the mystery of the Mischelle Lawless murder? Scott County investigators hope a big move this week will bring the answer they need to solve the 20-year-old case.

Early Tuesday morning authorities with the Scott County Sheriff’s Department exhumed her body. Both of Lawless’ parents and other family members stood by. Until then, Lawless had laid at rest in the Unity Baptist Church Cemetery since just after her brutal killing in 1992.
 
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/23700806/authorities-exhume-body-of-murder-victim-in-20-year-old-case

Could investigators’ newest search for clues finally solve the mystery of the Mischelle Lawless murder? Scott County investigators hope a big move this week will bring the answer they need to solve the 20-year-old case.

Early Tuesday morning authorities with the Scott County Sheriff’s Department exhumed her body. Both of Lawless’ parents and other family members stood by. Until then, Lawless had laid at rest in the Unity Baptist Church Cemetery since just after her brutal killing in 1992.

Thank you for posting this, hayaletcatcher! :gthanks:

More snipped from hayaletcatcher's link above:

Tuesday Lawless’s remains were taken directly from the cemetery to Scott City where a special team of scientists began their latest search for clues. Selma and Richard Eikelenboom flew in from Denver Monday night to continue their work on the Lawless investigation. They are known for their work in the United States on high profile cases and also Netherlands in a place called “The Crime Farm.” The couple pioneered a technique known as Touch DNA. Walter first enlisted their help several years earlier after watching an episode of “48 Hours” on CBS. The couple had helped crack a case with similar circumstances in Colorado, and Walter felt he had to see if they could help him bring closure to the Lawless family. With Touch DNA, the Eikelenbooms only need to find a few skin cells they can compare to a list of suspects.

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/23700806/authorities-exhume-body-of-murder-victim-in-20-year-old-case
 
WH2KGDQHPRFUBDVOP2QTF32B3Y.jpg

Mischelle Lawless died in November 1992 in Scott County, Mo
Southeast Mo. cold case gets fresh look nearly 30 years later
 
Unbelievable. This seems like a perfect case for @othram

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 25 Nov 2007, page Page A001 - Newspapers.com (no EDA: way to screenshot this and still be able to read it)

FAAF78F1-88B7-4F8D-86D5-C7DC83845A61.jpeg

A2B93671-AE24-43BE-87D8-22B0E3AE93F6.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Unbelievable. This seems like a perfect case for @othram

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 25 Nov 2007, page Page A001 - Newspapers.com (no one to screenshot this and still be able to read it)

View attachment 365548

View attachment 365549
We will reach out. Hopefully there is DNA left!
 
A local journalist dug into this case and recently came out with a podcast.

By The Lawless Files​

On Nov. 8, 1992, Angela "Mischelle" Lawless was murdered on the exit ramp of the interstate near her home in rural Missouri. Less than two years later, an 18-year-old man named Josh Kezer was convicted of the crime. Kezer was exonerated in 2009 on an "actual innocence" ruling. This podcast examines the investigation of the murder, and whether law enforcement intentionally convicted an innocent man while protecting the state's star witness from suspicion. This podcast is hosted by a veteran journalist and is based on original reporting, interviews and thousands of pages of records.


 

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