Koonce sentenced to life in prison plus 15 years for 2018 murder

A man has been given life in prison, plus 15 years, for the murder of a Dexter, Missouri, man in 2018.

On Thursday, Stoddard County Judge Joe Satterfield sentenced Joshua Koonce to a life sentence plus 15 years for the 2018 stabbing death of Jimmy Casey in Dexter.

According to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver, the case was originally set for a week-long jury trial on Nov. 29, 2021. However, Koonce appeared on the first morning of trial and plead guilty as charged to murder in the second degree and armed criminal action. The State made no concessions for the guilty plea and did not amend any charge and as a result, Koonce faced the full range of punishment for both counts.

After an extensive hearing that included testimony concerning the mental health of the Koonce, as well as statements from the family of the victim and arguments from the State, Satterfield sentenced Koonce to life imprisonment for the count of murder in the second degree and 15 years for the count of armed criminal action, ordering those sentences to be served consecutively.

On June 28, 2018, Koonce was charged with murder in the second degree and armed criminal action by Oliver for the stabbing death of Casey at his home in Dexter. Koonce was charged after fleeing to the state of Colorado soon after the murder occurred.

"We are pleased with the result of the case, given the fact that we made no concessions with regard to the charges or the sentencing range to obtain the plea of guilt and Judge Satterfield’s life sentence plus 15 years, the defendant will no longer be a threat to our community,” Oliver said. “Results like this only come from strong cases that are put together right from a team of experienced investigators and prosecutors.”

Oliver said they had overwhelming evidence of Koonce's guilt and a solid basis to get all of those facts into evidence for the jury to consider.

“A great deal of work went into bringing this week-long case to trial,” Oliver said. “Our office would like to thank the Stoddard County Major Case Squad and specifically Dexter Police Department Chief Hank Trout and Detective Cory Mills for their extensive work with our office to prepare the case and evidence for trial. We also greatly appreciate the efforts of the Stoddard County Sheriff's Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol- DDCC, and each individual member of the Major Case Squad."