Announcement may be pending in Bollinger County murder case

The murder case against Lonnie Liley -- which has been at a virtual standstill since April -- finally appears to be moving again.

Liley, 42, faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the Jan. 23 shooting death of his brother, 50-year-old Jessie Liley, at a trailer in rural Bollinger County, Missouri.

Little has happened in the case since April, when it was assigned to Judge Joe Satterfield, who normally presides over cases in Stoddard County, Missouri.

In an April 30 letter, Satterfield told Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Gray and public defender Chris Davis he would give them time to go through the evidence and exchange information in the case before following up with them in early July.

Davis told Satterfield in a July 18 letter he expected depositions to be finished by the end of August, when both sides likely would be ready to schedule motion hearings.

Court records show Satterfield sent attorneys for both sides a letter Oct. 8, requesting a written update by Halloween.

On Oct. 24, assistant public defender Jennifer Booth entered her appearance as co-counsel on the case, and a week later, she filed correspondence asking that the matter be called up in January for an announcement, online court records show.

What that announcement will be is unclear. Booth's letter is a secured document, and she declined to comment Wednesday on the pending case.

A probable-cause affidavit filed in the case in January states Lonnie Liley told detective Della K. Moore of the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department he shot his brother in self-defense after the elder Liley shoved Lonnie Liley's mother out of the way and tried to grab his gun.

A neighbor, identified as Jessie Liley's girlfriend, said Lonnie Liley had pulled a gun on her son, prompting Jessie Liley to go to his brother's home, where "two seconds later we all heard a gun go off," Moore wrote.

Lonnie Liley's statements to police contained several inconsistencies, according to the affidavit.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Bollinger County, Missouri