93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Online court records show a Columbia murder suspect accused of killing his father in 2022 is set to appear in Boone County Circuit Court Monday morning for a plea hearing.
23-year-old Samuel Ethan Brotherton had been charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action, but Missouri’s attorney general has filed amended charges of second degree murder and armed criminal action. Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office filed the amended charges on August 14.
The main difference between first and second degree murder in Missouri is that those convicted of second degree murder are eligible for parole after serving 85 percent of 30 years. Those convicted of first degree murder are not eligible for parole.
Brotherton is charged with killing his father in March 2022 on Pinecrest drive, west of Brown Station road. That’s near Blue Ridge elementary school.
The Columbia Police Department’s probable cause statement quotes Brotherton as saying he decided to shoot his father after an argument. 64-year-old Rollin Thompson of Columbia was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Boone County Circuit Judge Joshua Calvin Devine has ordered Brotherton to be transported to the Boone County Courthouse for Monday morning’s 11:30 plea hearing.
