Bloomfield teen accused of murder to appear in St. Louis court next week

ST. LOUIS -- Owen Welty is scheduled to make his first St. Louis County court appearance July 11.

According to court documents, there will be a settlement conference in regards to the case at that time.

Typically, a settlement conference takes place before a trial in an effort to reach an agreement without going to trial.

Judge John A. Ross has been appointed to hear the case.

Welty is charged with the Nov. 14, 2006 murder of 64-year-old Don McCollough at his farm east of Bloomfield.

Certified to stand trial as an adult in December 2006, he was incarcerated at the Stoddard County Jail for more than seven months. Upon a motion for change of venue in the summer of 2007, he was transferred to the Cape Girardeau County Jail.

A hearing in late May resulted in his case being moved to St. Louis County.

Throughout the proceedings, Welty has been through several attorneys and is now being defended by N. Scott Rosenblum of St. Louis.

He is facing charges of the Class A felony of first-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action.

Because of his age, Welty is not eligible for the death penalty. A June 2006 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court determined that sentencing a juvenile offender to death was unconstitutional even if the defendant is declared an adult.

He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

Welty will be one of the youngest people ever tried as an adult in a Missouri murder case.