Columbia teenager charged with adult murder in death of Macon man found in Boone County

COLUMBIA, Missouri (KMIZ)

A Columbia teenager is charged with adult murder in connection with the killing of a Macon man whose body was found in Boone County in February.

Kavon Williams, 15, was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery on Tuesday. The Boone County Sheriff's Office said March 1 that a 15-year-old was in custody in connection with the death of 25-year-old Malik Jones. Williams is being held without bail in the Boone County Jail. A court date has not yet been scheduled.

Jones was found dead in a wooded area near 6100 Creasy Springs Road North, north of Columbia, on February 7. He was reported missing on January 30. Jones' mother, Shawna Patterson, told ABC 17 News on February 8 that she and her daughter found his body.

Patterson told ABC 17 News on Tuesday she received a call from a detective around 4:30 p.m. informing her that Williams would be charged as an adult. She said for a moment she was filled with joy and hoped to soon learn more about the night of her son's death.

However, she said the happiness quickly led to more questions.

“(I've) never heard the name before. The name means nothing to me, so it gave me a little bit of joy to give it a name again,” Patterson said. “But then it brings … for every positive thing that happens, it raises a whole bunch more questions.”

One of the questions that still remains, according to Patterson, is: Why?

“Why? Why Malik? I mean, of course it was about the money, but why go to that extent? How can a 15-year-old kid commit such a heinous act?” Patterson said.

Patterson said she and her family have not been given an official cause of death for her son, but court documents say Jones was shot multiple times.

According to the probable cause statement, Jones traveled to Colombia to sell marijuana under a redacted name. Jones was never heard from again.

In the heavily redacted probable cause statement, it is not immediately clear if the redacted name is Williams. The redacted name was seen in videos and photos with grass and large amounts of money, some of which had red stains.

Another video found by police allegedly shows the redacted name saying “We got the old boy” while fanning out the red-stained cash, the statement said.

The statement quoted another person as saying that he heard Williams and another juvenile shoot the victim and dump the body in the woods, the statement said.

ABC 17 News reached out to the Boone County Sheriff's Office and according to court documents, Williams is in custody for “a prior alleged felony.”

Patterson said investigators did not tell her the details described in the probable cause statement, but she was most surprised to learn he was allegedly killed during a robbery.

“It's just unbelievable because even if you wanted to rob Malik, he would have given it to you. You know, that didn't have to happen… it didn't justify him losing his life,” Patterson said.

Patterson said the healing process for her and her family has had good days and bad. Some days she laughs at memories of her son, but the next day the same memory can bring her to tears.

She described Tuesday as a day where she got some answers, but also was reminded of what her son went through. For Patterson, the road ahead is to show up for Williams' court dates and keep her son's name alive.

She also assumes that it will be difficult for her and her family to find out more details about that night.

“We potentially have so many unanswered questions, and we're just worried about whether there's going to be a trial. Can we be there? Will we get answers to some of our questions?” Patterson said. “You know, this kid just keeps taking and taking and taking and taking from us.”