Comfort’s pre-trial conference is today in Columbia

41-year-old Keith Comfort’s jury trial is set to begin on February 27, 2023 in Columbia (undated file photo courtesy of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department website)

A Columbia murder suspect set to go on trial next week will be in court Tuesday afternoon for a pre-trial conference.

41-year-old Keith Alan Comfort is charged with second degree murder for the 2006 death of his wife, Megan Shultz. Boone County prosecutors say Comfort strangled his wife before putting her body in a garbage bag and throwing it into an apartment dumpster on Amelia, which is across Old Highway 63 from the Columbia Country Club.

The victim’s body was discovered in Columbia’s city landfill in 2019, after a lengthy search by Columbia Police.

Comfort’s five-day jury trial is set to begin on Monday. Judge Jeff Harris has said in open court that 75 to 80 potential jurors will be called to the courthouse for jury selection on opening day.