Andrew Acton is accused of killing a 47-year-old woman and dumping her body in a city trash bin near Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Boone County grand jury has indicted a Columbia man after a boater found a city trash bin floating in Perche Creek with the body of a 47-year-old woman sealed inside, authorities said.

Andrew B. Acton, 53, is charged with second-degree murder, abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. The indictment moved the case into circuit court after a May discovery near the Providence boat access raised questions about how long the woman had been dead, where she was killed and why her body was left in the water. Authorities have not released the woman’s name, citing the wishes of her family and friends.

The case began May 17, when a boater on Perche Creek noticed a City of Columbia roll cart floating in the water and contacted law enforcement because of the odor coming from it. Deputies went with the boater to the container, moved it to the creek bank and opened it. Court records say they found the body of an adult woman inside. The discovery happened in Boone County near the Missouri River, close to the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, a low-lying area west of Columbia used by hunters, anglers, birders and boaters. Investigators soon treated the container not just as a grim find, but as possible evidence of a killing and an effort to hide a death.

Deputies and investigators canvassed the area after the body was found. Court documents say they obtained surveillance images of a red Chevrolet S-10 pickup traveling on Burr Oak Road near Star School Road on May 11. The truck appeared to be carrying a City of Columbia trash bin in its bed while heading toward the Eagle Bluffs area. Investigators said the bin in the truck had unique features that were consistent with the bin recovered from Perche Creek. Law enforcement found Acton the next night, May 18, around 8:30 p.m., while he was driving the truck, according to court records. He was arrested after the traffic stop and later questioned by investigators.

Acton told investigators he could not remember much about May 11 other than driving around all day, according to a probable cause statement. The affidavit also says he did not deny dumping the trash bin when given several chances to do so. Prosecutors allege Acton disposed of the woman’s body around May 11, hoping it would not be discovered. Earlier charges accused him of abandoning a corpse and tampering with evidence. The murder count came later, after investigators said the woman had been strangled or smothered. A grand jury indictment filed June 26 repeated the same three charges and described the cause of death as a neck impression.

Authorities have described the victim only as a 47-year-old woman from Columbia. Boone County Sheriff’s Capt. Brian Leer said next of kin had been notified, but the sheriff’s office would not release her name unless her family and friends chose to make it public. Court documents said Acton and the woman had an established relationship and that she had lived with him before her death. Reports on the indictment identified the woman by the initials C.A.C. No motive has been released, and officials have not publicly explained what evidence narrowed the alleged killing window to sometime between Oct. 1, 2025, and May 10, 2026.

The location of the discovery added a second layer to the investigation. Perche Creek winds through western Boone County and empties near the Missouri River. The Providence access on Old Plank Road and the nearby conservation area sit outside Columbia’s busier streets, giving investigators a rural scene tied to city-owned equipment. Court records say the recovered container was a City of Columbia trash bin, and the truck in surveillance images appeared to carry a similar bin. The records do not say where that bin came from, whether it was assigned to a home, or whether investigators believe it was taken before the alleged dumping. Those questions remain part of the public gaps in the case.

Acton was first charged in May, when prosecutors accused him of hiding the body rather than causing the woman’s death. On June 2, Boone County prosecutors added second-degree murder, alleging he knowingly caused her death or caused serious physical injury that led to her death. He remained in the Boone County Jail without bond. At a June 23 hearing, bond was denied again because of public safety concerns. After the June 26 grand jury indictment, the case was set for arraignment before Judge Stephanie Morrell. Local court reporting said Acton pleaded not guilty on June 29 and remained jailed while the case continued.

Acton’s public profile in Columbia has drawn attention because state business records linked him to 63 Diner North Columbia LLC, a company connected to the now-closed 63 Diner. Local records reported by news outlets also showed that his last listed address was in the 3000 block of Bray Avenue in southwest Columbia and that the home had been foreclosed on in March. Those details have not been presented by officials as a motive. Investigators have focused publicly on the creek discovery, the truck images, the recovered bin, the alleged relationship between Acton and the woman, and the medical finding described in the indictment.

The case now stands as a homicide prosecution built from a discovery in the water, surveillance images and court filings that turned an abandonment case into a murder case. Acton remained held without bond as of July 7, 2026, and court records cited by local reports listed his next hearing for July 9.

Author note: Last updated July 7, 2026.