Brixey resident is one of three men arrested in 1989 murder of Kelle Ann Workman
Kelle Ann Workman, a 24-year-old Douglas County woman, went missing July 30, 1989 while mowing a cemetery in northwestern Douglas County.
Brixey resident Leonard "Dwight" Banks is one of three men who has been arrested for the 1989 murder of 24-year-old Kelle Ann Worman. The arrest came after a Douglas County grand jury indictment was filed in the cold case in relation to new information shared by a reported witness who came forward to authorities. Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin and Douglas County Sheriff Chris DeGase arrested Dwight Banks at a residence off N Highway in the Brixey area yesterday without incident.
Workman was abducted 35 years ago on June 30, 1989 while mowing the Dogwood Cemetery, located about nine miles southeast of Seymour near the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway Z. Officers say that although she could not be found, the riding lawn mower she was using was still running, and her keys were in the ignition of her car. Eight days after her disapperance, authorities found her decomposed body partially submerged in a creek in the Mark Twain National Forest in Christian County. Dwight's brother Bobby Banks and another man, Wiley Belt, are also charged. According to the grand jury indictment, the two Banks brothers and Belt "after deliberation, knowingly caused the death of (Kelle Ann Workman) by striking her with a blunt object." The indictment also alleges that Workman was forcibly raped and that all three men were involved in her rape.
They are each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape, all class A felonies. If convicted, they face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
A full story will be shared in the Feb. 28 edition of the Ozark County Times.