Trevor John Huber was convicted after a two-day bench trial in Dunklin County.

KENNETT, Mo. — A Dunklin County judge sentenced Trevor John Huber to life in prison without parole after finding him guilty of first-degree murder in the 2018 killing and decapitation of his mother.

Huber, 43, of Cardwell, was convicted after a bench trial held May 18 and May 19 in Dunklin County. The victim was Charlotte Wilson, 63, who was killed at a home on North Main Street in Cardwell on Dec. 21, 2018. Circuit Judge Josh Underwood imposed the sentence after hearing evidence about the 911 call, the crime scene, Huber’s statements to deputies and mental-health testimony raised during the court process.

The ruling ended the trial phase of a case that had moved through court for more than seven years. Prosecutors said the evidence showed Huber killed Wilson inside the home, stayed there and later made statements tying himself to the death. Defense filings described a man who was confused, possibly impaired and suffering from mental-health symptoms after methamphetamine use. The judge’s finding resolved those facts as a first-degree murder conviction, which under the sentence entered in court means Huber will not be eligible for parole. The case began when Huber called 911 and asked that an officer come to the house. Dispatchers said the caller sounded confused. When Dunklin County deputies arrived at the North Main Street residence, Huber answered the door naked and appeared disoriented. He did not run from the home before officers entered. Deputies found Wilson dead inside. The first minutes of the response became central to the later court record because Huber was still at the scene and the evidence had not been hidden.

Court records described Wilson’s injuries in direct terms. She had been hit five to seven times in the head with a blunt object before she was decapitated with a knife after death. Investigators said a bloody knife and a slag hammer were left in plain view on the kitchen table. Defense records later noted that Huber had not moved Wilson’s body, cleaned the crime scene or concealed the tools. Prosecutors used those same facts to show the setting of the killing and the evidence tying Huber to it.

After deputies arrested Huber and advised him of his rights, he told investigators that he believed Wilson was trying to kill him with poison. He also admitted using methamphetamine in the days before the killing. During questioning, investigators said, Huber wrote the words “I killed my mother” on a piece of paper. He then tore the paper into pieces and swallowed it. The paper itself was gone, but the act became part of the official account of what Huber said and did after the killing.

The defense placed Huber’s mental condition before the court. A forensic psychologist testified that Huber showed evidence of methamphetamine-induced psychosis and diagnosed him with delusional disorder, according to defense records. The psychologist could not say whether both conditions contributed to Wilson’s killing. That left the court to weigh a record that included possible drug-related psychosis, a stated belief about poisoning, a confession note and physical evidence from inside the home. Underwood found the prosecution had proved first-degree murder despite the mental-state evidence.

Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Nicholas Jain said after sentencing that the conviction followed extensive work by investigators. Jain said he wanted to thank the Dunklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol for their “professional and diligent work” in investigating and solving the homicide. His statement came after the two-day trial closed and after Underwood entered the life-without-parole sentence. The public remarks did not identify any unresolved suspects or pending charges connected to Wilson’s death.

The legal result also clarified how the court treated Huber’s poisoning claim. The available record presents that claim as Huber’s belief, not as a fact confirmed by investigators. Public case accounts do not show that Wilson poisoned Huber or threatened to do so. What the court had before it was evidence that Huber said he believed she was poisoning him, evidence that he had used methamphetamine and evidence that Wilson died from violence in the home. The judge found those facts supported criminal responsibility for murder.

Cardwell is a small city in Missouri’s Bootheel near the Arkansas border, and the killing brought a major homicide investigation to a rural community. The first response came from the county sheriff’s office, while state investigators later assisted. The case drew wider attention because of the violence of Wilson’s death and the unusual details of Huber’s conduct after deputies arrived. Still, the courtroom outcome rested on the murder charge, the evidence admitted at trial and the judge’s finding after hearing the proof.

The years between Wilson’s death and Huber’s conviction left the case open for a long period. Huber was 36 when deputies responded to the home in 2018 and 43 when he was sentenced in 2026. The public record does not explain every delay, but it shows a prosecution that included forensic issues, mental-health evidence and a bench trial rather than a jury trial. Once the trial began, the verdict and sentence came at the close of the two-day proceeding in Dunklin County. Wilson’s death remains the central fact behind the sentence. She was killed in her home, and the court found her son guilty of first-degree murder. As of Thursday, June 18, 2026, Huber remains sentenced to life without parole. The next public milestone would be any post-trial motion, appeal notice or later ruling in Missouri court.

Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.