Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Missouri

Missouri manhunt underway for boyfriend accused of killing teacher, daughter, 11

McLean has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and faces a $1 million cash-only bond

Brie Stimson By Brie Stimson Fox News
Published
close
Fox News Flash top headlines for August 25 Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 25

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

A manhunt was underway in Missouri on Wednesday night for a suspect accused of killing his "longtime" girlfriend and her 11-year-old daughter, according to reports. 

An arrest warrant was issued for suspect J.T. McLean after Allison Abitz, 43, an elementary school teacher and Jozee Abitz, 11, were found dead in their Columbia, Missouri, home on Sunday during a welfare check, according to the Columbia Missourian. 

McLean has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and faces a $1 million cash-only bond. 

Relatives had reported not hearing from Abitz or her daughter in a few days. McLean was believed to be the last person to see her alive and the sheriff’s department said it had probable cause to believe he was involved in their deaths, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. No other details were given. 

FLORIDA TOURIST SHOT DEAD WHILE PROTECTING HIS BABY AT MIAMI BEACH RESTAURANT

McLean, of nearby Fulton, Missouri, worked as a truck driver and reportedly sometimes went by the names John McLean, Steven McLean and Steven Nagy, the Missourian reported. 

J.T. McLean is accused of killing a woman and her daughter, authorities say. (Boone County Sheriff's Office)

J.T. McLean is accused of killing a woman and her daughter, authorities say. (Boone County Sheriff's Office)

"Jozee and Allison were free-spirited and fun-loving," friend Katie Guinn told KOMU-TV in Columbia.

Jozee "was just so ready for anything. Just wide-eyed and excited all the time. I've never seen a wider, happier smile on a child," she added. "That girl was always grinning from ear to ear and happy." 

She said the news of their deaths didn't seem possible and made her "numb and hot and terrified at the same time."

"The questions were really hard, there's so many as to what happened and how and what could have been done to prevent it," Guinn told the station. 

Their causes of death have not been reported.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

McLean is described as 5-foot-9, around 210 pounds with green eyes and brown hair.