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Arrest made in Marston rest area murder
NEW MADRID, Mo. - A Missouri man is expected to be extradited from Texas for the murder of a woman at a New Madrid County rest area.
New Madrid County Sheriff Terry Stevens reported Friday afternoon, authorities have charged Eliot D. Bonner, 27, of St. Charles, Mo., with first degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm for the Oct. 31 shooting death of Monica Keenlance. Currently Bonner is in custody in a jail in McCulloch County, Texas.
The charges against Bonner have apparently solved a crime that left few clues for investigators.
“We went from having almost nothing to an arrest,” said Stevens.
Around noon Oct. 31, the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department received a call from a traveler at the southbound Interstate 55 rest area near Marston. The caller reported he believed a woman there had been shot.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Keenlance outside her vehicle. The woman was dead from an apparent gunshot wound.
Although a witness provided police with a description of the suspect and the vehicle he was driving, law enforcement officers were unable to locate the vehicle immediately following the shooting.
At the scene, officers did find a spent shell casing, determining the gun used was a .380 caliber or 9 millimeter weapon.
Stevens declined to reveal many details on their investigation leading up to the filing of charges against Bonner, who was arrested in Brady, Texas, for being a felon in possession of a firearm on Nov. 14.
“We can’t get into how we found out, but it was a tip,” Stevens said. He noted the suspect was driving a vehicle matching the description given by the witness.
According to the probable cause statement by New Madrid County Deputy Zach Albright, the gun which Bonner had in his possession at his arrest in Texas and the projectile found at the scene in Missouri were matched by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Crime Lab.
The Sheriff said it is believed Keenlance, who was in her 50s, had been at the rest area for several days. He noted the Illinois woman received a disability check and would travel until her money ran out then wait at a rest area until receiving money to resume her travels.
In the probable cause statement, Bonner reportedly stated he shot Keenlance “because the female called him a racial slur.”
To complete their investigation and the filing of charges, the sheriff said a deputy and a highway patrol investigator had traveled to Texas. Also Friday, officers were conducting simultaneous investigations in O’Fallon and Ste. Genevieve, he said.