Leon Lamb files plea of not guilty at arraignment hearing regarding Mischelle Lawless murder

Leon Lamb entered a plea of not guilty for the murder of Mischelle Lawless at his arraignment hearing Monday, Feb. 10, at the Scott County Courthouse in Benton.

Lawless was killed Nov. 8, 1992 at the Interstate 55 exit ramp near Benton in Scott County. She was found shot three times. An assault occurred outside of the car about 100 feet down the exit embankment, where blood had pooled in the grass. She was a nursing student at Southeast Missouri State University and a waitress at Shoney’s in Sikeston. Lamb was her ex-boyfriend. He is the last person known to have seen Lawless alive. He has told investigators she stopped at his house and they had sex before she left to go home.

Attorney Russell Oliver is representing Lamb in the case. Oliver told Judge Robert Horack that the defense would be entering a plea of not guilty at Lamb's arraignment.

Also Monday, Oliver filed a motion to dismiss count two of armed criminal action in the case, a change of judge and venue and a motion to submit casings and projectiles to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).

According to the motion-to-dismiss document, Oliver states Missouri caselaw is clear the prosecution of the felony of armed criminal action is limited to three years "because armed criminal action is an unclassified code felony and cannot be designated a class A felony". In his filing regarding submitting casing to the NIBIN system, Oliver asked that the three handgun shell casings and three projectiles recovered from the crime scene and Lawless' body be entered into the NIBIN system.

The filing regarding the NIBIN system states Sikeston Department of Public Safety has a NIBIN terminal, and according to Lamb's knowledge, the casings held in evidence have not been entered into the NIBIN system.

Special prosecutor Allen Moss appeared at the arraignment on behalf of the prosecution. Moss has proposed a stay order on discovery in the case.