Charleston man charged with first-degree murder
MISSISSIPPI COUNTY, Mo. (KBSI) – A Charleston man faces a charge of first degree murder in connection with a death investigation in Mississippi County.
An arrest warrant was issued for Bryan Campbell, charging him with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and abandonment of a corpse.
The charges stem after authorities discovered of the victim’s body found off County Road 203 on Saturday, April 6.
The victim has been positively identified as Christopher Dylan Vinson from Charleston.
A criminal complaint states Campbell allegedly shot and killed Vinson on Monday, April 1, then left the body in the water.
The Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department received an emergency call about a body found partially submerged in water on Saturday, April 6 at 4:44 p.m.
A credit card was found near the body.
Mississippi County sheriff’s deputies and personell from the Division of Drug and Crime Control responded to the scene.
Law enforcement arrived on scene at 5:45 p.m. and saw the victim partially submerged in water. There was about a 25 foot-angled rock embankment between the body and a parking lot which made it difficult for law enforcement to reach the body.
The body had a gunshot to the head and another to the back to the shoulder, according to the probable cause statement.
No firearms were found on scene.
Investigators determined the victim had not been seen alive since Monday, April 1 between 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Campbell told investigators and he and the victim ran errands around East Prairie, Charleston and Sikeston on April 1.
He also said he and the victim smoked marijuana for about an hour in his car outside of his mother’s house around 2:30 p.m.
Campbell told investigators the victim got in the passenger side of a gold-colored Chevrolet Impala with tinted windows and black wheels.
Investigators got search warrants for two cell phones they believe the victim carried. They also checked FLOCK system cameras.
Charleston Department of Public Safety officers took a call of shots fired the night of April 1. Officers recovered nine-millimeter shell casings frmo the shooting.
He was interviewed by investigators again on April 11. He was later arrested.
Campbell is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment hearing Wednesday, April 17.
