UPDATE: Columbia gas station murder suspect expected to request bond reduction

By Zimmer Communications
seth brinegar
seth brinegar
Boone County prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Seth Brinegar with second degree murder and armed criminal action (February 2, 2024 mug shot courtesy of the Boone County Sheriff Department’s website)

A Columbia man charged with killing a man on February 1 at the Phillips 66 Fastlane gas station on West Boulevard will be in Boone County Circuit Court this afternoon.

18-year-old Seth Brinegar is charged with second degree murder and armed criminal action for the shooting death of 33-year-old Corey Bilger, who was pumping gas when he was shot. Brinegar is set to appear in court at 1 pm today for a bond hearing before Boone County Judge Kimberly Shaw. Brinegar is represented by Columbia defense attorney Jeffery Hilbrenner.

The murder happened in the parking lot of a busy Fastlane gas station, near Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen.

Court documents quote Brinegar as repeatedly asking the victim if he was following him. The Columbia Police Department’s three-page probable cause statement quotes a witness at a nearby pump as saying Bilger told Brinegar that he didn’t know him. Brinegar allegedly cursed at Bilger and then shot him when he approached his vehicle. A witness says Bilger was not holding anything except a cell phone. Court documents quote Brinegar as saying he fired four to five shots. One of those bullets struck a Ford Fiesta that was occupied by a man and a six-month old. No one in that vehicle was injured.