A former Gasconade County resident, Daniel Richard Russell, 53, was charged Thursday with allegations of murdering Michael A. Graham, a Georgia resident residing at Russell’s residence in the spring of 2018, and then disposing of his corpse in a blue barrel which was dumped in the Gasconade River at Gasconade.

Russell was taken into custody in Jefferson County this past week and is jailed in Franklin County without bond. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance this morning (Wednesday) in Hermann before Associate Circuit Court Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger.

Russell is charged in a Gasconade County felony warrant with murder in the first degree, abandonment of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution.

An informant is cited in Gasconade County Sheriff Scott Eiler’s report of the charges. The informant reportedly told investigators Russell admitted to killing Graham, placing Graham’s body in the barrel and encasing it in concrete. The informant assisted Russell with disposing of the barrel near the boat ramp at Gasconade near the confluence with the Missouri River. The informant, who was not identified, told investigators Graham  suspected Russell and his family were taking advantage of him, so he was looking for a new place to stay.

In a heavily redacted probable cause statement filed as the application for formal charges, an investigator with the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control noted the informant spoke with Russell’s wife who said she observed the victim (Graham) “lying in a chair” in their attached garage. He was “deceased, and it appeared that he had been struck in the head with something.”

Russell’s wife admitted to assisting with the clean-up of the scene, according to the PC statement.

On April 11, 2019, according to court documents, investigators interviewed Russell who told them Graham had left the area in a car but had left personal belongings and his debit card at the Russell’s residence on Drake School Road.

The next day, MSHP dive team members  recovered the blue barrel at the boat ramp in Gasconade. DNA testing, dentures and jewelry were later used to confirm the victim’s identity as that of Graham. A chunk of concrete missing from the barrel was also matched to a sample recovered from the garage at Russell’s residence.

Social media accounts were also investigated, and financial accounts including Graham’s Social Security benefit payment history were examined between 2019 and now.

According  to Eiler, Russell was interviewed again last year and again denied knowing anything about the man’s disappearance.

Russell was taken into custody in High Ridge, Mo., and transfered to Franklin County Adult Detention Center.