Jefferson City teen denied request for lesser murder charge

A Jefferson City teen remains charged with first-degree murder.

The public defender for 17-year-old Jahuan Whirley had requested his defendant’s charge be reduced to second-degree murder, arguing a superseding indictment to change the charge from second to first-degree murder was filed to late.

But, on Monday, the judge denied the motion.  Whirley will next appear in court in June for his pre-trial conference.

Whirley is accused of shooting two men in 2018 during a robbery on W. Atchison Street.  One of those men, 33-year-old Justin Kammerich, died as a result of his injuries.