Suspect in Callaway County killing found not guilty by reason of insanity

KMIZ 17 – A Callaway County woman is now in a state mental hospital after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2020 murder case.

Callaway County prosecutor Chris Wilson said Lola Crews made the plea on April 26 and effectively ends the case. Wilson said that two mental evaluations found that Crews had schizoaffective disorder, and was incapable of understanding the case against her.

Investigators suspected Crews had killed her mother, Frances Keel, at a home in the 8300 block of Broadway Street outside of New Bloomfield in January 2020. The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office said Crews admitted to killing her mother, and that Crews’ son told them she suffered from schizophrenia for several decades.