UPDATE: The defendant died April 21, 2024, in a Joplin hospital.
A man charged in a Texas County cold-case murder investigation is to appear May 9 in Texas County Circuit Court for a pre-trial conference.
Tommie K. Whetzell is set for trial on June 10-14 in Phelps County on a change of venue, according to court documents. He is charged with first-degree murder of Ricky Luebbert, 42, in November 2007.
Luebbert’s body was at a residence in the Tyrone area where multiple bullet holes were found in a front window. An investigation was opened, but the case was never solved. An effort by the Texas County Sheriff’s Department and the national true crime series, “Cold Justice,” led to charges against Whetzell in 2022.
If convicted, Whetzell faces life in prison. He is free on bond.