Missouri man gets 30 years in prison for murder he committed when 17-year-old Great Circle resident

UPDATE 2/8/23 – One of the two men charged with the murder of another Great Circle behavioral awareness worker in St. James has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Cody B. Armistead, who was 17 at the time of the 2020 murder, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for first-degree murder and four more years for leaving a corpse. Armistead began his sentence on January 20.

Armistead’s accomplice Enoch Phillips, who was 18 at the time of the murder, is still working his case. Phillips’ case was stayed due to a mental evaluation, but he still faces a first-degree murder charge.

Original story published September 21, 2020:

ST. JAMES, Mo. – Two teenagers have been charged after they ran away from Great Circle with a third person and that person failed to return.

According to court documents, 18-year-old Enoch Phillips and 17-year-old Cody Armistead were charged with first-degree murder.

A probable cause statement says Phillips, Armistead and another person named CH ran away from the Great Circle in St James on Wednesday. Phillips and Armistead returned on Thursday and CH did not. The two told staff they didn’t know where CH was.

Armistead later told two other Great Circle clients that he and Phillips had killed CH. One of these customers passed this information on to the authorities. Later Thursday, authorities went to question Armistead and Phillips, but they did not release CH’s whereabouts.

On Friday, Phelps County investigators returned and interviewed Armistead, and he said Phillips strangled CH until he died. Armistead then took investigators to where CH’s body was located. Armistead took investigators to an area in the 600 block of North Meramec Street, about three miles from the Great Circle.

Court documents state that when they arrived at CH’s location, investigators found his body in an open field. Armistead was then sent to the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office for an interview.

“Armistead jokingly said they could kill him and no one would know. Phillips agreed, saying no one would find him. Armistead said Phillips first hit CH with a closed fist. They beat him to the ground several times and strangled CH while he was on his back until he died,” the court documents said.

Phillips was taken to the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office and gave investigators the same information. Armistead has a criminal record with a pending second-degree assault charge.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/missouri-man-gets-30-years-for-murder-he-committed-as-17-year-old-resident-of-great-circle/ Missouri man gets 30 years in prison for murder he committed when 17-year-old Great Circle resident