Relatives of Benton murder victim raise money to help pay for DNA testing

BENTON, Mo. -- Members of the Benton community showed their support Saturday for a fundraising effort to help the Scott County Sheriff's Department afford costly DNA testing in the unsolved 1992 murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless.

Relatives of Lawless organized the bake sale and car wash in downtown Benton because they wanted to do something to help the investigation, said family member Andrea Kestner.

Mischelle's mother, Esther Lawless of Benton, said baked goods sold out shortly after the sale began and that she was touched to note several people donating more money than the item actually cost.

"We've done really good -- about 30 cars already," said Kestner around noon Saturday.

Most of the people who wanted their cars washed did so because they were familiar with the case and wanted to help, Kestner said.

A check is added to the till from a bake sale and car wash fundraiser for the Angela Mischelle Lawless case Saturday at Benton City Hall. (Kit Doyle)

The murder occurred during early morning hours of Nov. 8, 1992, at the exit ramp of northbound Interstate 55 in Benton, less than five miles from where the Lawless family lived. Lawless, a 19-year-old nursing student at Southeast Missouri State University, was found shot to death in her car near the interstate ramp.

In 1994, a jury convicted Joshua C. Kezer, then 18, of second-degree murder in connection with Lawless' death. Kezer served almost 16 years of a 60-year sentence for the murder before being released in February when a court decision exonerated him of the crime, on the grounds that new evidence undermined the court's confidence in the correctness of the verdict and that key evidence in the case was not disclosed to the defense.

Now the family just wants closure and to know that Mischelle's killer has been brought to justice, Esther Lawless said.

"We just want the right people that did this in jail for it," she said. "They've been out, free long enough."

All of the proceeds of Saturday's fundraiser will go to the sheriff's department for DNA testing, and a gospel sing to benefit the same cause is planned for 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 30 at Charleston Baptist Association in Benton, Esther Lawless said.

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter sent clothing worn by Lawless to a lab in the Netherlands for touch DNA testing in the hopes the killer left behind skin cells on the fabric. The testing done so far will cost the department close to $40,000.

Though the analysis done up to this point has given investigators hope in finding a forensic link in the case, further testing is needed, pushing the tally of what it will cost even higher, said Scott County investigator Branden Caid.

"You start with the most obvious pieces [of clothing], and the bill just keeps going up; you've got an entire wardrobe to check," Caid said.

Caid said the department, which has so far used money from the county's restitution fund to pay for the testing, will continue to pursue further DNA analysis, knowing the next round could be the one that solves the 16-year-old mystery.

Anyone wishing to donate money for DNA testing in the Lawless case can make checks payable to the Scott County Sheriff's Department, Esther Lawless said.

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Pertinent address:

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