In August 2020, a community in Monroe City, Missouri, was shaken by the disappearance and subsequent death of 32-year-old Amanda Kay Johnston. A mother of five known for her love of fishing and family, Johnston was reported missing on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, after friends and family were unable to reach her. Concern escalated when law enforcement officers were dispatched to her residence around 1:00 p.m.
that afternoon and discovered signs of forced entry, suggesting she had not left of her own volition. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Monroe City Police Department launched an investigation, issuing an endangered person advisory as they searched for her whereabouts.
The search for Johnston came to a tragic end three days later on the morning of Saturday, August 8, 2020, when her body was discovered in a rural area of Pike County, Missouri. Investigators determined that she had been killed days earlier, in the early morning hours of August 5. According to police reports, Johnston was taken to St. Jude Cemetery in Monroe City, where she was fatally shot around 3:11 a.m. Following the shooting, her body was transported away from the scene to the location where it was eventually found.
Quickly following the discovery of her remains, authorities arrested two suspects from Monroe City in connection with the crime: 29-year-old Jerry Asbell, Jr. and 37-year-old Jessica Ellsworth. Asbell was identified as the shooter and was initially charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Ellsworth was taken into custody on charges of tampering with physical evidence for her role in helping to move and conceal the victim’s body after the murder. The investigation revealed that the crime was likely fueled by drug use, and surveillance footage alongside Ellsworth’s cooperation helped police piece together the timeline of events.
The legal proceedings saw a change of venue to Warren County, where Jerry Asbell, Jr. eventually entered a plea agreement. In exchange for prosecutors dropping the first-degree murder, kidnapping, and assault charges, Asbell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and must serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Jessica Ellsworth, who admitted to assisting in the cover-up and guiding investigators to the remains, received a sentence of seven years for tampering with evidence.
