Accused Columbia murderer Achterberg in court on Tuesday

38-year-old Mark Alan Achterberg is charged in Boone County Circuit Court with first degree murder. He’s being held without bond at the Boone County Jail (undated photo courtesy of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department website)

A hearing is set for Tuesday afternoon for a Columbia man charged with murdering a man in 2021 and fleeing to Iowa after the homicide.

A Boone County grand jury indicted 38-year-old Mark Alan Achterberg in January 2022 for first degree murder and armed criminal action for the November 2021 shooting death of Justin Stidham north of Columbia. The indictment replaced charges that were filed earlier, and Achterberg remains jailed without bond.

He has ties to Creston, Iowa, and was captured by authorities in the Hawkeye state after the homicide.

Judge Tracy Gonzalez rejected bond efforts during his first court appearance, citing the murder charge, his record of convictions dating to 2004 and that Achterberg had to be extradited back to Missouri from Iowa.