Group Chat Implicates Three Men in the Rape and Murder of a Teen Girl | Crime Alert 1PM 11.18.25

A group text about the search for missing Missouri teen Kaniah Jennings now gives way to a murder case in which three men face new court delays after her body is found. A small Missouri city will pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit after a blind and deaf Shih Tzu dog was shot by a police officer. Drew Nelson reports. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news Now, I'm Drew Nelson,
a group text about the search for a missing Missouri
team now gives way to a murder case in which
three men face new court delays after the body of
Keanaya Jennings was found in rural Pemiscott County on Monday,
All three suspects called into a Pemiscott County court by video.
Their arrangements were moved because none of them have lawyers yet.

(00:23):
A bond hearing for two of them is set for Thursday.
KFVS spoke with Pemiscott County Sheriff Jobe Bryant. He described
the toll of the case.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
It's just a tragic tragedy. You know. I'm a day aad,
a grand da head. I can't imagine how horrible this
is for the family. It's terrible.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Three men face charges tied to the death of eighteen
year old Kanaiah Jennings from Portageville. She disappeared November three.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said her body was found
ten days later in a rural area. They said more
work is coming in this case and more details will
be shared when they can. Keenan People's thirty four of
Hayti is charged with first degree murder, kidnapping, rape, and

(01:04):
tampering with physical evidence. Blake Patrick, eighteen of East Prairie
is charged with accessory to first degree murder, kidnapping, rape,
and other counts tied to theft and a motor vehicle.
Donald Peeples Junior, thirty eight of hay Tie is charged
with accessory to murder and tampering with physical evidence. Sheriff
Bryant says his team stepped in as soon as the
case began.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
We became involved with it early own, and like I said,
the investigators worked long and hard hours only to bring
us to a clothes There is a lot of work
that went into this.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
People Magazine reports that text messages play a key part
in the case. In one message, a man wrote that
he was quote playing with a woman tonight. In the
group chat, another man replied quote do your thing. Later
one of them wrote quote it's a group effort. Police
believed the messages refer to the teen who may have
been held that night in Hayti. The team was last

(01:56):
seen in Hayti on the third. Police said she was
taken from her home in Portageviille that day. A probable
cause statement said she was taken to a home in
Hayti shared by two of the men. One man told
police he and another had sex with her. He said
socks were placed in her mouth and said she was
tied with a blanket with her head covered. Jennings's body
was found on Friday, and autopsy is now set through

(02:17):
the Saint Francois County Coroner's office. Sheriff Bryant told KFBS
that some people online raised doubts about the work done
by his office.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
I can assure you all out there that the investigators
and officers on the street worked long and hard on
this case to bring it two clothes.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Jennings family posted updates on a Facebook group called Justice
for Kenaia Jennings, writing that she had so much more
to live for. They say they will not stop until
the men quote are behind bars for the rest of
their lives. A GoFundMe set up for her funeral and
memorial cost shows twenty six hundred and sixty five dollars
raised toward a five thousand dollars goal, with her father

(02:55):
saying the loss quote has shattered our hearts. All three
suspects remain in customs. The court process will move forward
once each man has legal counsel. More crime Man Justice
news after this. A small Missouri city will pay half
a million dollars to settle a lawsuit after a blind

(03:17):
and deaf shit zoo dog was shot by a police
officer in a case that set off a year of
anger and forced two officials out of their jobs. The
city is Sturgeon, The owner is Nicholas Hunter. The officer
who fired the shot is named in records as Myron Woodson.
Hunter will receive two hundred eighty two thousand, five hundred dollars.
His lawyers received two hundred and seventeen thousand, five hundred dollars.

(03:39):
The Animal Legal Defense Fund helped fund the legal fight.
ALDF called the deal one of the largest of its kind.
They said these deaths can be stopped with simple training,
and they say the size of the settlement shows that
pets matter and police rules need to keep pace. The
shooting took place on May nineteenth of twenty twenty four.
Hunter said he was eating dinner when Teddy's lipped out

(04:00):
of his fence yard and wandered into a neighbor's yard.
Police and Sturgeon also do animal control, so the neighbor
called for help. Woodson responded. Body camera video shows him
make several tries to catch Teddy with a snare as
the small dog moved through a large field. After about
three minutes, he gave up and shot the dog at
close range. The Animal Legal Defense Fund said Sturgeon never

(04:22):
trained Woodson to handle dogs, never taught him to use
the catch poll, and never told him about the city's
agreement with Boone County for animal control. They also said
city leaders defended Woodson in two Facebook posts after the
shooting without seeing the bodycam video. They said the promised
review never took place. Teddy weighed thirteen pounds, he did
not charge at the officer. Video shows the blind and

(04:44):
deaf dog did not pose any threat. The city first
set in a Facebook post that Woodson feared Teddy was rabid.
Later video showed Woodson telling Hunter he thought Teddy was astray.
Woodson later said in an affidavit quote, I believed that
the dog was seriously injured and suffering. At first, Mayor
Kevin Abramson defended Woodson, but later he resigned. Woodson quit

(05:06):
the force and now works as a process server for
the latest crime and justice news. Follow Crime Alert hourly
update on your favorite podcast app with this crime Alert.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
I'm Drew Nelson