93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A February 2025 jury trial has been scheduled in southeast Missouri for a well-known Columbia restaurant owner charged with second degree arson.
43-year-old Crystal Umfress is the co-owner of the popular Casa Maria’s Mexican cantina on Columbia’s Grindstone Parkway. Ms. Umfress and another suspect are charged with the July 2023 arson fire of Lupita’s Mexican restaurant in southeast Missouri’s Kennett, which is in the Bootheel.
Umfress’ trial has been moved to southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff, on a change of venue. Reporter Steve Patton from Kennett radio station KBOA has told 939 the Eagle that the arson fire and arrests have drawn a lot of news media coverage in southeast Missouri.
The Kennett Police Department’s six-page probable cause statement says a witness provided authorities with multiple text messages from Umfress, one allegedly telling her “you got to get this taken care of” and another asking if the witness would “promise.” Those alleged texts were set on July 9, one day before the restaurant fire.
Butler County Judge Kacey Proctor has scheduled a February 3 jury trial for Umfress in Poplar Bluff.
