New details in Lawless case now revealed
BENTON, Mo., (KBSI)- New details in the Mischelle Lawless case now revealed by the current Special Prosecutor and Investigator taking on the case come as others close to the story also call for justice for Mischelle:
Former Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter — and the man wrongfully accused — Josh Kezer — also calling for the person or persons who may be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together to come forward — and allow Mischelle to finally rest in peace.
Who would she be today?
A beautiful young woman with a fiery spirit.
A daughter … a sister … a friend.
August 2nd would have been Mischelle Lawless’ 51st birthday but she was robbed of her legacy nearly 32 years ago. Mischelle was brutally murdered and found near the Benton overpass. The quest for her killer is now in the hands of Special Prosecutor Allen Moss.
“Well, it’s about Mischelle — and finding justice for her and the integrity of the justice system,” said Moss.
The justice system has already failed once in this case. It failed the family, it failed Mischelle — It failed Josh Kezer and I’m going to make sure it doesn’t fail them again.”
Just 19 years old, Lawless’s body was discovered in her car near I-55 in November of 1992. She had been out with friends the night of her murder but never made it home.
Alongside Moss is Special Investigator David James. The pair took on the case in 2023.
James says the focus is now on finding out what happened to Mischelle before she was beaten and shot multiple times.
“You have to start at the crime scene,” said James. “I’ve found potential suspect paths. I’ve found people that need to be interviewed that never were.”
Moss says it took months just to get all the records of the three decades old case in one place. Now he says they have made encouraging progress.
“In that one-year’s time we’ve conducted about 80 interviews,” said Moss. “We are not able to share all the details all the time and some people don’t realize we are constantly working on the case.”
Both Moss and James agree justice will take time.
“We are looking at everything fresh,” said Moss. “It’s a blank slate we look at the crime scene and piece everything back from there — we are allowing the evidence to lead us to the suspect.”
This comes as investigators remember a time when this case was considered solved — and closed. Former Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter was a reserve deputy at the time of Mischelle’s murder.
“We went down to the scene and we found Mischelle,” he remembers.
Recalling details of the case — Walter says Mischelle had been out with friends in Sikeston before she was killed. He says at the scene they found signs of a struggle. Somehow, she ended up back in her car, discovered with the window rolled down. She had been shot multiple times.
Now in retirement, Walter says he continues to research the case and look for clues that could bring justice to Mischelle.
“I’ve been across the pond and back,” said Walter. “I’ve been to three different countries. I was told several times from several different departments to leave this alone. That is a huge problem when you’re trying to get help from other departments and they don’t want you to look at this.”
Walter’s work, he says includes righting what he calls some wrongs of the past. He says that is including the arrest and conviction of an innocent man, Josh Kezer. Kezer spent 17 years in a Missouri prison before then Sheriff Rick Walter reopened the case and Kezer was released in 2009.
“We need the right people to do the right things,” said Kezer. “I don’t care if this gets solved and everyone forgets my name, that’s only part of the story, but the purpose is to talk about MIschelle and to bring everyone’s attention to MIschelle.”
To this day people in Scott County say the case still strikes a nerve, different people telling different stories with multiple ideas regarding who the real killer could be and what, if anything they had to gain by taking Mischelle’s life.
“It’s a case that people care about, this story is just unbelievable,” said journalist and podcast creator, Bob Miller.
Miller has conducted dozens if not hundreds of interviews for his podcast the Lawless Files.
“I don’t exactly know why it happened,” said Miller. “Still putting pieces together. The question is what exactly did Mischelle know and why was she in danger?”
As for Moss and James, they say their minds remain open, saying someone out there knows something. They want that person to come forward who could hold the key to bring peace to the Lawless family and allow Mischelle to rest in peace. They say they know the community is anxious for the case to be solved.
“So, we’re looking under all the rocks to try to find out what’s there and what’s not,” said James. “Part of the job of the cold case investigator is to look at things that have never been discovered.”
“We are willing to look at any lead we receive,” said Moss. “It is not about me it is what it would mean to the family of Mischelle, they waited a long time.”
Josh Kezer also released this statement:
“Since my exoneration and release, I’ve advocated on behalf of the justice Mischelle Lawless, and her family deserves. I’ve deprioritized my trauma to focus on hers and theirs. Because they’ve deserved better.
August 2nd could be about me, but it isn’t. My heart breaks for the Lawless family. They’ve deserved better since the morning of November 8th, 1992. At least since then. I’d say since before then as well.
Mischelle Lawless deserves justice. Enough time has lapsed. The investigation remains in my prayers.”
Kezer has since written a book about the case. Josh Kezer (@joshkezer) / X
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