ST. JOSEPH, Mo. –Several bridges in northwest Missouri are scheduled for under-bridge inspections over the next few weeks. Crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation may close a single lane on the bridges and ramps listed below as they conduct routine under-bridge inspections. Some of these work zones may be moving operations and motorists are advised to be alert for work zone signs and extra equipment on the roadways around these bridges and ramps.

MoDOT said In-depth under-bridge inspections are part a program of inspection, repair and maintenance of the more than 10,000 bridges across the state. This program ensures the bridges are kept in the best possible condition for as long as possible for all those that travel across Missouri’s roadways.

All work is weather permitting and could be rescheduled.

Week of December 12

Atchison County Route 111 bridge over Mill Creek
Worth County Route 246 bridge over the Platte River

Week of December 19

Linn County U.S. Route 36 bridges over Muddy Creek

Week of January 9

Buchanan County U.S. Route 36 bridges over Route 759
Andrew County U.S. Route 169 bridge over the Platte River
Andrew County Route C bridge over the One Hundred and Two River

A 17-year-old is being charged as an adult in connection with the fatal stabbing of Kaytlin Root at Krug Park in October.

Amanda Donna Bennett has been charged in Buchanan County Court as an adult with a felony of second-degree murder.  She we previously charged in juvenile court because she was 16 at the time of the offense.  Root’s body was found Oct. 16 by a runner along a trail in the park.

Co-defendant Sebastian Dowell appeared in court Thursday and entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in the case.  He’s due back in court in February.  He continues to be held without bail in the Buchanan County Jail.

According to court documents, Bennett and Dowell lured Root to meet them at a location in St. Joseph.  Root was alleged urged not to tell anyone who she was meeting.  The three of them allegedly rode around for awhile and eventually went to Krug Park.

“Once there the three people walked to a secluded area where the victim was rendered unconscious,” said Det. Greg Ogdahl in court documents.  “The victim was then stabbed or cut more then twice and died from the injuries.”

If convicted of the charge Bennett could face a penalty of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole until after 85 percent of any sentence ordered has been served.

A judge set bail at $250,000 cash and scheduled Bennett’s first court appearance December 13.

 

We’re waiting to hear from a Circuit Judge whether he’ll certify a juvenile for trial in adult court on charges stemming from the fatal stabbing of Kaytlin Root at Krug Park in October.

During a hearing Thursday, Judge Patrick Robb heard evidence about the teenager, identified in court as “A.B.” The 17-year-old is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Kaytlin Root, whose body was found October 16 along a running and biking trail at the park. She was 16 years old at the time of the stabbing, so her case is being processed through the Juvenile Department, at least for now.

About two dozen of the victim’s family and friends were present in court, many of them wearing blue shirts with the words “Justice for Kaytlin.”

The judge took the motion to certify A.B. as an adult under advisement while he reads a certification report prepared by the Juvenile Office. Judge Robb says he will rule “at a later date.”

If the juvenile is certified for adult court, Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins says he would likely file adult charges fairly quickly.

As we reported earlier, co-defendant Sebastian Dowell appeared in court Thursday as well. Dowell waived formal arraignment in Circuit Court, entered a plea of not guilty, and was scheduled to appear in court February 9 for a trial docket call. At that time a jury trial will be scheduled if one is needed. Dowell is being held without bail.

At the certification hearing, a detective testified that the teenager contacted the victim via social media, hoping they could meet and hang out. Detective Greg Ogdahl said the juvenile told the victim not to let anyone know who was arranging the meeting. Ogdahl says the suspects rendered the victim unconscious, cut her at least twice, and left her to die in the park.

 

(Update 9:57 a.m. ) – A man accused in a fatal stabbing at Krug Park appeared in court Thursday.

Through his attorney, Sebastian Dowell, 18 waived a formal Circuit Court arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.  Dowell is charged in Buchanan County with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 17-year-old Kaytlin Root.  As we previously reported, Root’s body was found in Krug Park in October by a runner off of a bike trail.

Around a dozen friends and family members of the victim were in the courtroom Thursday morning wearing t-shirts that read “Justice for Kaytlin.”

Dowell is due back in court in February.  He continues to be held without bail in the Buchanan County Jail.

A 17-year-old girl is also charged in juvenile court with a class A felony of second-degree murder.  She appeared for a hearing Thursday for a judge to decide if she should be tried as an adult.  Judge Patrick Robb will rule on that case at a later date.  She remains in juvenile custody.

The St. Joseph Board of Education and School District will hold a series of community engagement events.

School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Newhart said the open house events are being put on to get input from the public on a variety of subjects.

“We will have a county fair style setup with various stations ranging from current academic programs to what a Prop C issue would be and what is Prop C, what our facility setup would be, what our current facility needs are,” Newhart said. “What we want to get, though, is what the public feedback is on these various issues, but also if they have any ideas.”

Newhart said the board decided to hold these three events to listen to the community and gauge the public’s opinion so they can work to do a better job.

“Ultimately it’s going to be this community deciding what type of schools they want to support,” Newhart said. “Our district is coming off a very tumultuous last three years (and) we’re trying to move forward. The board, the staff, the administrators want to make the open invite to the public, meet them at a place and time so they can specifically ask questions, see some of the same things that we’re seeing and get an idea of what we’re dealing with and hopefully we can have that dialogue and exchange to where solutions can be determined and made.”

The first community engagement meeting will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Oak Grove Elementary School.

The other meetings will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at Troester Media Center and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12, at Carden Park Elementary School.

A St. Joseph man was critically injured in a one vehicle crash early Wednesday morning.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, a 22-year-old man was driving north in his Chevrolet El Camino on Riverside at Frederick shortly after midnight when the vehicle left the roadway and hit the concrete base and traffic pole at the intersection. The man had to be extricated from the vehicle and was transported to Mosaic Life Care and then KU Medical Center with critical injuries.

The roadway was closed until around 3 a.m. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Doctors claim the St. Joseph community is not immune to the impacts of synthetic drug abuse.

Dr. Jeremy W. Hunter is Mosaic Life Care’s Emergency Department Assistant Medical Director.  Dr. Hunter said they see many people come through the ER because of synthetic drugs like bath salts and that sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what drug patients are using.  Hunter said it’s hard to tell but it seems like there are more cases coming through the emergency room.

“We seemingly have more cases of excited delirium coming through the emergency department but again it’s hard to tell with a drug that we can’t test.  It seems like there’s more of it yes,” Hunter said. “Usually the younger adults are the highest population for this type of drug of abuse but you can have patients in the middle age.  We’ve had patients in their middle age and sometimes elderly that come in with this kind of toxidrome.”

Dr. Stephen Thornton is the medical director with the University of Kansas Poison Center.  Thornton spoke Tuesday afternoon at Mosaic Life Care about “Tweeking in the 21st Century: Meth, Bath Salts and Beyond.”  Thornton said the drug culture has seen a change in how drugs are distributed when it comes to synthetic compounds and the internet.

“What we’re seeing is basically a continued rise in problems being created by them which highlights the difficultly that law enforcement and the government is having in controlling these substances because of the internet,” Thornton said. “What we’re seeing really is although these substances started out in being sold in smoke shops and truck stops now they’ve been moved into being sold on the internet.  It’s called the gray market.”

Thornton said people are buying synthetic drugs like bath salts online.

“You can buy these things from China or Europe and it doesn’t really matter to them if these things are illegal in the United States,” Thornton said. “What you’re kind of trying to figure out here is how do you control all the mail that’s coming in.”

He said side effects of synthetic drugs can cause hallucinations.  Thornton said he hopes his presentation informs people that there are other drugs out there that may look like the side effects of methamphetamine but are actually something different. Hunter said they have seen patients come in to Mosaic Life Care on synthetic drugs with side effects that have severely altered their personalities.

“The violent nature of the excited delirium can be dangerous for both the patient and the healthcare worker in that they are irrational when you’re trying to talk to them. You can’t talk sense to them. They do not understand what’s happening,” Hunter said. “It’s truly a dangerous situation for both the patient and the healthcare worker until we can get on top of it and combat the effects of the drugs and calm them down.”

Thornton said the police departments can often encounter many people dealing with the effects of synthetic drugs.

“They are going to look in many cases like someone who’s on methamphetamine.  They are going to be very agitated. Their heart rate will be real high, they’re going to be real hot and sweating.  Kind of that fight or flight picture.  Some of them have seizures, others may be psychotic just hallucinatory crazy,” Thornton said. “In general they’re just going to be very agitated.  Unfortunately a lot of them end up interacting with the police and there can be very bad outcomes on both sides there.”

Hunter said he is unsure on how many synthetic drug abuse cases come through Mosaic Life Care because they can’t test the substances but that it happens frequently.  In some cases he said the drugs can even be fatal.

“We know that they are around and we know that we have patients using them but exactly which drug it is we don’t know for sure all the time,” Hunter said. “But patients will tell us if they’re using blank, blank name so we know that they’re around.”