Two charged as accomplices to murder in Wayne County

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Two Wayne County men were arraigned late last week for their alleged roles in the shooting death of a man whose body was found lying next to his overturned all-terrain vehicle on a county road near Hiram, Missouri.

Steven E. Jennewein, 34, of Greenville, and Brandon Norman, 25, of Lowndes, Missouri, appeared before Associate Circuit Judge Randy Schuller on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

They are charged with acting to cause the death last month of John C. Fowler.

Authorities allege 47-year-old Michael Burkman, a Cape Girardeau man who had been staying in the Lowndes area, shot Fowler several times with a shotgun.

Fowler, of St. Peters, Missouri, who most recently had been staying at the Heaven's Hope Campground in the Hiram area, was found dead about 11:15 a.m. Feb. 1 on a county road near the private campground.

Wayne County Circuit Clerk Darrin Garrison said Jennewein told Schuller he was going to hire a private attorney, and he will appear in court again April 9.

An attorney from the Public Defender's Office entered an appearance on Norman's behalf, and he will appear April 16, Garrison said. The charges against Norman and Jennewein, held without bond in the Wayne County Jail, were filed March 6 by Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Jackson.

Jennewein was arrested at 1 p.m. March 10 by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on the Wayne County warrant and on a warrant for a parole violation.

Norman, according to Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch, was arrested Friday at his residence.

Authorities say Norman and Jennewein aided Burkman in killing Fowler who, according to patrol Sgt. Jeff Johnson's probable-cause statement, had been involved in an apparent ongoing altercation with Fowler.