A high-profile Columbia infant death case is expected to be resolved by this afternoon.
A plea hearing is scheduled for 1:30 this afternoon at the Boone County Courthouse for 32-year-old Staffone Fountain, a former Columbia resident who is charged with second degree murder, abandonment of a corpse and endangering the welfare of a child for the 2017 death of his infant daughter. Fountain was indicted by a Boone County grand jury for the charges.
The infant’s remains were discovered in 2019 in a tire near McKnight tire along Columbia’s North Providence. Former Columbia police chief Geoff Jones announced the charges against Fountain during an emotional June 2022 press conference at city hall.
Fountain is represented by prominent defense attorney Jennifer Bukowsky. Boone County assistant prosecutor Susan Boresi is handling the case for the PA’s office. Boone County Circuit Judge Kevin Crane has scheduled the plea hearing for 1:30 pm.
