Man convicted in Cape killing set for 2017 release

A former Cape Girardeau resident is nearing the end of a 37-year-sentence for second-degree murder and theft.

Information from the Missouri Department of Corrections indicates Brian "Andy" Abbott, 51, is scheduled to be released on parole March 3, 2017, with a sentence completion date of March 3, 2018.

Abbott was convicted in April 1982 of murdering Margaret Smith, a former Southeast Missouri State University geography professor, and stealing her car.

Smith last was seen July 10, 1980, and a neighbor reported her missing the morning of July 16.

Her body was not immediately found, but police found her car -- an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme -- later that morning at Capaha Park. Dozens of people had reported seeing Abbott driving the car in the days after Smith's disappearance.

Abbott, who was 16 at the time and had been in trouble with juvenile authorities, had his probation revoked for driving without a license.

He claimed to have taken the car the night of July 10 after his father refused to let him in the house because he missed curfew. He said he had attempted to hot-wire the car, which was parked at a church, but found the keys on the floorboard.

Because authorities could not find a body, they did not charge Abbott with Smith's murder, though other evidence appeared to link him with the disappearance.

Abbott was known to Smith, as indicated by her diary and neighbors. Blood matching Smith's type was found in the trunk of the Cutlass. Blood splatters and stains were found in all but one of the rooms in Smith's house, and seminal fluid was collected from a woman's sock found in the bedroom. Test results showed the sample could have come from 6 percent of the population, including Abbott -- or 7,000 other men in Cape Girardeau at the time.

Smith's body was found in February 1981 on Highway 177 by a Larron Laboratory employee, along with a purse containing a blood- and mud-stained nightgown. The murder case against Abbott proceeded, and a jury found him guilty after just two hours and 55 minutes of deliberation.

Abbott "was released to parole by conditional release" Nov. 3, 2010, Missouri Department of Corrections communication director David Owen wrote in an email. He returned to prison Aug. 19, 2013, because of a parole violation, Owen wrote, the details of which were not available.

Conditions of parole as set forth by Missouri statute include that the offender will obey all laws and report arrests to his or her parole officer within 48 hours; will get advance permission from a parole officer before leaving the state or area where he or she lives; will get advance permission before making a change in residency; will maintain employment unless engaged in a program approved by a parole officer; will not own, possess, transport, buy or sell any weapons; and other restrictions.

Offenders being released on parole also are required to fill a registration form indicating their intended address, employer and other information, submit to photos and fingerprinting and other identification procedures.

kwebster@semissourian.com

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