A high-profile Columbia murder suspect who’s scheduled to go on trial later this month will be in court Tuesday afternoon for a pre-trial conference.
41-year-old Keith Comfort is charged with second degree murder for the 2006 death of his wife, Megan. Boone County prosecutors say Comfort strangled her before putting her body in a garbage bag and throwing it into an apartment dumpster on Amelia street, which is near the Columbia Country Club.
Her body was discovered in Columbia’s city landfill in 2019, after a lengthy search by Columbia Police. CPD’s probable cause statement quotes Comfort as telling police that his wife was frantic and “swinging” her arms at him, after she allegedly did a drug transaction. Comfort is quoted as telling detectives that he strangled his wife before placing her body in a garbage bag, then throwing it into his Amelia street apartment dumpster near Old Highway 63.
Comfort’s five-day jury trial is set to begin on February 27. Judge Jeff Harris has said in open court that 75 to 80 potential jurors will be called to the courthouse that day for jury selection.