Woman's boyfriend charged in stabbing death

The boyfriend of a Springfield woman whose body was discovered in April with multiple stab wounds was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with her death.

Lorenzo Roy, 50, is accused in the homicide of Jessica Conner, 26, according to documents filed in Greene County Circuit Court. If convicted, Roy could face life in prison or death — if the case becomes a death penalty-level prosecution.

Conner was discovered on her back on the floor of the kitchen of 1121 N. Sherman Ave. on April 11. An autopsy found she had more than 20 "sharp force injuries" to her torso, head, neck and wrist, according to documents filed in Greene County Circuit Court. She also had blunt force trauma to her face, arms, legs and hands.

Roy told police that he and Conner had argued on April 10 but that he hadn't seen her since then. A blood-stained black leather hat found nearby was tested at the state crime lab and was shown to have DNA on it that was believed to be from Roy and Conner, according to documents filed in Greene County Circuit Court. Roy was seen wearing what appeared to be that hat on surveillance video that police reviewed of him riding the city bus on April 10.

Conner's mother, Kimbrly Candie, has said she discovered her daughter's body after Conner's boyfriend called her and asked her to check on her daughter. Candie has been describing her daughter as four months pregnant in accounts to police and area media; an autopsy found that the mother was mistaken and Conner wasn't pregnant, according to the court records released Wednesday.

Roy has Missouri convictions for felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor tampering, according to court records. In California, he was convicted of first-degree burglary.

Dan Patterson, the Greene County prosecuting attorney, has said Conner had been the reported victim of domestic violence many times over the years at the hands of several different suspects.

Patterson said that in recently filed cases, Conner wouldn't cooperate with the prosecution. He said the most recent case was set for trial Feb. 19 and was dismissed by the court when Conner failed to appear.

Springfield police provided documents to the News-Leader detailing four 2013 domestic violence reports in which Conner is named. Records from a fifth incident naming Conner were closed. All released reports refer to Roy.

Springfield reported 2,660 domestic violence incidents in 2013, almost three times as many as Columbia, according to the Missouri Uniform Crime Reporting Program. More domestic violence was reported in Springfield in 2013 than in St. Louis, about twice Springfield's size.

Local authorities have formed a task force on domestic violence because of the high numbers. They've talked about reviewing domestic violence fatalities to see how agencies handling prior complaints communicated and what could have been done differently.

A bill to establish a review of domestic violence deaths in Missouri was considered by the General Assembly in 2011 but didn't pass. Missouri currently reviews all child fatalities.