Following a one-day trial, a Greene County jury awarded the grieving mother of MacKenna Milhon a $50 million verdict in a wrongful death suit.
Milhon, 19, was stabbed to death by Lonnie Williams, then 33, in December of 2019.
Williams was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in 2021. He is serving life without parole at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking, plus 100 years.
Milhon’s mother, Rachel Crook, filed the wrongful death suit in 2022.
Williams appeared via video from prison in last week’s civil trial.
According to earlier news reports, a Greene County judge added the extra 100 years after hearing Crook’s emotional victim impact statement about losing her daughter at Williams' sentencing hearing.
In the civil trial in Judge Derek Ankrom’s courtroom, Williams did not present any evidence or testify. He gave a closing statement that lasted about 10 minutes.
The jury took about 20 minutes to rule in favor of Milhon’s mother.
Award based on pain and suffering
Attorney Amanda Johnson with Donelan Law in Springfield represented Crook in the civil proceedings.
Johnson explained Missouri has a statute that lays out what factors a jury can consider in determining damages in wrongful death cases.
“One of those is the pain and suffering that the decedent experienced from the time of first injury to death,” Johnson said in a phone interview. “So that was our biggest factor in a case like this. We were presenting evidence to show that this wasn’t just an instant death, that MacKenna fought for her life, that she tried to get away, that she didn’t die instantly.”
To help the jury understand the pain and suffering MacKenna endured, Johnson called investigators with both the Springfield Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office as witnesses, as well as Greene County Medical Examiner Deiter Duff.
Dr. Duff explained to the jury that Milhon had 11 “sharp force injuries,” eight of which were to the bone. Evidence was also presented about the knife Williams used to stab Milhon.
“The tip was broken off,” Johnson said. “It was recovered in MacKenna’s spine.”
Teen called mom moments before she was stabbed
According to a 2021 Springfield News-Leader story, Milhon was last seen getting into a vehicle at a gas station on Norton Road on Dec. 20, 2019. The following day, she contacted her mother by phone to say that she’d been assaulted and was possibly in Lampe or Blue Eye, more than 50 miles south of Springfield. The call disconnected after a few minutes.
Prosecutors believe Williams killed the teen shortly after that phone call. Williams took Milhon to an isolated area just north of the Springfield city limits and stabbed her to death.
Milhon’s body was discovered 10 days later.
Johnson said Det. Cody Williams with the Springfield Police Department testified at the civil trial. Cody Williams worked the case from start to finish — from the time Milhon was reported missing, to when her body was found. The detective interviewed Lonnie Williams three times and got a confession.
“(Lonnie Williams) did admit to stabbing MacKenna more than once and admitted to stabbing her inside the car and outside of the car,” Johnson said, recounting Det. Cody Williams’ testimony. “(Lonnie Williams) told the detective that MacKenna was limping away from him. That was really important testimony to get in for the jury to hear.”
‘She was terrified and fighting for her life’
Johnson, a former homicide prosecutor, described Milhon’s murder as one of the most violent homicides she’s ever dealt with. Johnson said both detectives who testified last week told the jury it was one of the most violent homicides they ever encountered in their careers.
Johnson acknowledged it’s unlikely her client will receive anything near $50 million from the man who killed Milhon.
“What’s important for, I think, anyone to understand about the civil justice system is that a party’s ability to pay is not a consideration that a jury can have in reaching a judgment,” she said, “because that monetary judgment is what serves as a tool of justice in our community, to make sure that justice is served.
“I’ve been told that this is the highest jury verdict in Greene County history,” Johnson said. “To me, it just really underscores the gravity of what happened to MacKenna. When I made my closing argument, I said, ‘This damage amount should be astronomical because what happened was astronomical. She was terrified and fighting for her life.”
Another important reason for pursuing a civil judgment, Johnson explained, is they hope to seek relief for Crook from Missouri’s Tort Victim Compensation Fund. One of the first steps in the application process is to have a money judgment.
Civil trial gives victim’s mom a chance to seek justice
According to Johnson, pursuing a civil judgment was an emotional and difficult process for Crook.
While there were times Crook was unable to be in the courtroom, Johnson said it was important to Crook to be able to tell the jury about her daughter.
“A lot of times in these homicide cases, you don’t really get into that at all,” Johnson said.
At the trial last week, Milhon’s mother told the jury about how Milhon worked to be a friend to everyone. At one point, Milhon had a classmate who was deaf. Milhon wanted to learn sign language so she could communicate with that classmate.
“(Crook) was able to tell stories about how MacKenna knew unsheltered people in our community by name and called them ma’am and sir,” Johnson said, “and treated them with just as much dignity and respect as she would anybody else.”
At the time of her death, Milhon had recently graduated high school and was enrolled at Ozarks Technical Community College.
“She had career goals of becoming a nurse just like her mom and her grandmother,” Johnson said. “She also wanted to be a pediatrician because she loved children. I think Rachel (Crook) called her a ‘baby snatcher.’ If there was ever a baby around, MacKenna wanted to hold that baby.
‘So just really being able to tell the jury about that,” Johnson continued. “Now MacKenna, she’ll never get to be a mother. She’ll never get to get married because of this tragedy.”
In a post on Donelan Law's Facebook page, Johnson and her partner, attorney Sarah Donelan, express gratitude to the jurors.
“Sarah and Amanda thank the jury for their service and appreciate their thoughtful consideration of evidence that no one should have to hear or see,” the post said in part. “The jury's verdict affirms the merits of the case and underscores the importance of upholding justice in our community.”
