State and local officials worked the case that began with Aspen Lewis reported missing.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced a murder conviction in a Barry County case after state prosecutors helped local officials try Aaron Malone for the killing of Aspen Lewis.
The conviction followed a three-day trial in Jasper County, where the case was heard after a change of venue. Malone, 24, of Exeter, was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence. Hanaway said the result came from cooperation with Barry County Prosecutor Amy Boxx, whose office handled the case with assistance from the attorney general’s office.
“I am proud of our collaboration with Barry County Prosecutor Amy Boxx to deliver justice for the victim’s family,” Hanaway said after the verdict. She said her office would continue joining local prosecutors and law enforcement in violent crime cases. The attorney general’s office identified Assistant Attorneys General Melissa Pierce and Michael Schafer as part of the prosecution team. It also credited victim advocate Kara Lindhorst, investigators David Southard and James Tharp, and paralegal Jay Turner. The investigation was conducted by the Barry County Sheriff’s Office with help from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The case that reached the state office began at a residence in the Exeter area. Deputies were called after Malone reported that Lewis, his girlfriend, was missing and may have been abducted. Sheriff Danny Boyd said Malone provided both a verbal and written statement describing a possible abduction. That first report created the frame of a missing-person case, but investigators said the scene soon suggested a different path. A large blood stain was found in the roadway behind Malone’s truck. Blood was also seen on the truck, and the gravel driveway looked disturbed where jewelry pieces were found on the ground.
Deputies and highway patrol investigators then worked from the scene outward. Records said nearby surveillance video showed Malone’s truck arriving at about 11:35 p.m. on Nov. 24, 2024, with screaming heard shortly afterward. The truck left at about 1:35 a.m. and returned at about 4:10 a.m. Malone made a 911 call before he returned, investigators said. Those details connected the residence, the truck, the call and the period when prosecutors said the killing and movement of Lewis’ body occurred. The evidence also gave the state a timeline that did not depend only on Malone’s first statements.
When officers pressed for Lewis’ location, Malone took them to a rural area in Barry County, according to records cited after the killing. Before they found her, investigators saw the remains of a burned pink wool article of clothing in the roadway. Lewis was located off the road in a wooded area near Shell Knob. She was dead and covered with leaves and sticks. A probable cause statement said she had extensive head trauma. Boyd said Malone admitted there had been an altercation and that he had disposed of the body. The state later presented that discovery as proof that the missing-person report was false and that Malone tried to hide evidence.
Boxx said the trial evidence showed Malone struck Lewis in the head multiple times, strangled her and shot her in the head. The attorney general’s office described the evidence in similar terms, saying Malone repeatedly assaulted Lewis in the face, strangled her and shot her before leaving her body in the woods. Jurors heard the case April 14 through April 16. After closing arguments, they deliberated for about an hour before returning guilty verdicts on all four counts. The speed of the verdict was noted by state officials but does not end the court process.
The prosecution also carried a procedural history. Malone had been charged in connection with Lewis’ death in November 2024, and the case later moved from Barry County to Jasper County. Judge David Allen Cole presided. Before trial, the case was set for April 14, 2026. After the verdict, Malone was ordered held without bond and remanded to the Barry County Sheriff’s Office. The formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 9 at 11 a.m. in Jasper County Circuit Court, and a sentencing assessment is due before June 1.
The defense has continued to contest the case. Huggins, Malone’s attorney, filed a motion for a new trial on April 17. The filing says the court wrongly limited defense evidence and argument about Lewis, restricted questioning tied to alleged witness errors, denied preliminary hearing requests and refused a continuance to hire an independent expert. The motion also says the state did not prove premeditation beyond a reasonable doubt and made improper statements in closing argument. Prosecutors have not lost the verdict through that filing. The claims remain for the court to consider as the case approaches sentencing.
One defense argument focuses on medical evidence. Huggins wrote that the defense learned during an April 1 deposition that the medical examiner had changed an opinion about whether the gunshot occurred before or after death. The defense says more time was needed to evaluate that conclusion. The jury, however, heard the state’s full presentation, including physical evidence at the residence, the surveillance timeline, the burned clothing, the location of the body and Malone’s statements. The post-trial motion now asks the judge to decide whether any ruling at trial requires starting over.
For Barry County, the case also shows how a local investigation can become a state-backed prosecution when the facts, charges and trial demands grow. Hanaway’s office said it provides attorneys, investigators and resources to counties in complex or high-impact cases. In Malone’s case, that support came after deputies and highway patrol investigators had already gathered the early evidence that changed the matter from a reported abduction into a homicide investigation.
For now, Malone remains convicted on four felony counts, with sentencing set for June 9. The court has not publicly displaced the verdict, and the next stage is the judge’s handling of post-trial issues and punishment.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.