Jury trials are scheduled for a Springfield couple accused of murdering a Columbia man in Benton County.
Michael and Kayley Birnbaum were arrested last year after new evidence came to light in the murder of Cody Garrett, 28. He was reported missing in June of 2021. His body was discovered later that same day in a wooded area at Truman Lake Mountain Bike Park in Warsaw. He’d been shot multiple times.
Prosecutors allege the Birnbaums lured Garrett to a remote location to murder him so they could gain access to a $50,000 life insurance policy. The couple had previously lived in Columbia and one of them was named as a beneficiary on Garrett’s insurance. They’re both charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action…