Defense requests change of judge in Bollinger County murder case

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- A new judge will be appointed in the case of a Patton, Mo., teen charged with first-degree murder.

John W. Wilfong, 17, was originally scheduled to appear Thursday in Bollinger County before Circuit Judge Benjamin F. Lewis, but public defender Amy Metzinger, Wilfong's attorney, requested a change of judge in the case last week.

The case now goes to the Missouri Supreme Court for appointment of a judge from another circuit.

Metzinger also filed a motion for a change of venue in the case, which would move it out of Bollinger County.

The case was bound over for circuit court Feb. 17.

Wilfong faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the slaying of Pamela Ackman, his cousin and legal guardian.

Ackman was found dead in her Patton home Dec. 30. She suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head from a .22-caliber firearm.

The Cape Girardeau County-Bollinger County Major Case Squad was immediately activated, and an overnight search led to the arrest of Wilfong. A 9-year-old boy who lived in the residence as a foster child was also placed in custody.

When investigators located the two missing boys, they also recovered a .22-caliber rifle that belonged in the Ackmans' gun cabinet.

The 9-year-old was transferred to the custody of juvenile authorities.