Juarez held without bond in connection with murder

Gabriel Juarez

Marion County Jail photo from their website.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

For the Courier-Post

In mid October 2025, a  warrant was issued by the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri for the arrest of Gabriel Anthony Juarez, 28, of Hannibal, Mo.

The warrant charged him with:

A felony of domestic assault in the first degree;

A felony of murder in the first degree; and

Committed the foregoing felony of Murder in the First Degree, with and through, the knowing use, assistance of aid of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.

On Oct. 14, 2025, the court set a cash-only bond at $500,000. As of Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, Juarez remained incarcerated in the Marion County Jail at Palmyra.

Juarez is represented by Austin J. Smith, of the Missouri State Public Defender’s office, District 10. The Courier-Post reached out to the public defender’s office on Monday for comment, but there had been no response to the message as of press-time on Tuesday.

Thus far, Juarez’s hearings have been conducted between the court and jail remotely via Webex.

Filing information for this story was obtained by a review of documents on Casenet.

Family members of the deceased identified the murder victim as Emily Traynor, 22, of Hannibal, formerly of Bowling Green, and gave the date of her death as Oct. 13, 2025. She was employed by Addis HomeCare.

A preliminary hearing before Judge Jennifer Richardson is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at the associate courtroom, Marion County Courthouse, 906 Broadway, Hannibal.