CASS COUNTY, Mo. — On Friday three men were charged in a Belton man’s murder. Court documents describe that two of the men believed the victim had spoiled their plan to rob a drug house in Belton by tipping off the house’s residents, and one of them shot the victim in the back of the head in a cornfield near State Line Road in rural Cass County.
The victim has been identified as Miles Cashell, 19, who was reported missing on September 23 according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Lieutenant J. Kevin Tieman confirmed that the three arrested and charged are Keegan Curtis of Raymore, Kenny Bowman of Belton and Edmond Lynch of Belton. All will be held on a $1 million bond and have varying charges filed against them.
Curtis has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, kidnapping, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.
Bowman has been charged with being an accessory to first-degree murder, armed criminal action, being an accessory to kidnapping, being an accessory to tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.
Lynch has been charged with being an accessory to second-degree murder or felony murder, being an accessory to kidnapping, being an accessory to tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.
On September 25 court documents say that a witness told detectives at 2 a.m. on September 23 she and Cashell were asleep at her apartment when Curtis and Bowman entered the apartment unannounced. They told Cashell to accompany them to “visit a friend in west Belton” and left in a small black car also occupied by a man later identified as Lynch.
The witness said at about 4 a.m. on September 23 Curtis and Bowman returned to the apartment without Cashell and she asked them where he was. They didn’t answer, but instead said she needed to come with them. She refused and they eventually left. She told detectives that as Curtis left, he told her to lock her door and watch her back.
In a follow up interview on September 30, the witness gave more details, including that Curtis had come to her apartment earlier at about 9 p.m. on September 22 and ate dinner before he and Cashell left for 90 minutes. Cashell returned to the apartment before Curtis and Bowman showed up again in the early morning hours of the 23rd.
Investigators first interviewed Curtis regarding Cashell as a missing person on September 29, and he denied any knowledge of the his whereabouts and also denied knowing the witness or going to her home. After interviewing the witness on the 30th, investigators questioned Curtis again on October 1. A probable cause statement says that he first reiterated he knew nothing about Cashell’s missing person’s case and then admitted to knowing both Cashell and the witness.
According to court documents Curtis then described that he and Bowman had been involved in Grandview robberies and Cashell had identified a drug house in Belton that had money, drugs and weapons. Curtis said they began to watch the home on the night of September 22, but said it appeared that the people in the home knew of the plan, and he believed that Cashell had tipped them off. During that interview Curtis also gave more details about Bowman and Lynch’s involvement.
On October 2 detectives contacted Bowman and Lynch separately at the Quik and Tasty warehouse in Belton where both were working. Court documents say that Bowman agreed to speak with investigators where he initially denied any involvement in the robbery plot Curtis had described, but eventually volunteered to show them where they had taken Cashell’s body. While en route to the crime scene, Bowman told a detective about his involvement in planning the home robbery, which he said never happened because Cashell had snitched. He said he and Curtis decided to confront Cashell, and walked him out to a cornfield where they kicked and choked him.
The probable cause statement says Bowman stated they were going to leave, but Curtis said they couldn’t leave Cashell behind as a witness, and he retrieved a gun from the glove box of the car and shot Cashell in the back of the head. Bowman said they also intended to do the same to the witness at the apartment, but he was able to talk Curtis out of it. Court documents say on September 30 that Bowman, Curtis and Lynch all returned to the crime scene, removed Cashell’s clothing and covered him up with more brush.
During Lynch’s interview with he corroborated the robbery plot and said he played a part in watching the home. He also confirmed that Curtis and Bowman were upset with Cashell for being a supposed snitch, which he said Cashell denied while they were all in the car the night of the failed robbery. He told detectives that Bowman said Curtis fatally shot Cashell in the cornfield. He also said he had returned to the crime scene with Curtis and Bowman to help cover up Cashell’s body.
After the interviews, authorities with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office went to the crime scene where Bowman had led them and found a body they believe belongs to Cashell. Court documents say he was naked and covered under brush, and had a hole in the back of his skull consistent with a gunshot wound.
Of the three, only Lynch has a listed court date that is set for October 16. Online court records don’t list attorneys for any of the men.
