Chicago man gets 25-year prison sentence for part in Miller County murder

A Chicago man charged for his involvement in drug transactions with a man from the state of California prior to killing him in Miller County in 2018 has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Joseph McKenna, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the death of Tyler Worthington, 34, of North San Juan, California.

McKenna had been charged with first-degree murder and could have faced the death penalty if the case had gone to trial. Charges of armed criminal action and tampering with a witness were dismissed.

Investigators believe McKenna and Tyler Kroll, 26, also of Chicago, were involved in Worthington's death. Kroll is charged with first-degree murder and was scheduled to appear in court last month, but court records show he failed to appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

McKenna and Kroll traveled with Worthington and, on June 4, 2018, were traveling to Miller County for delivery of controlled substances, according to a Miller County Sheriff's Department probable cause statement.

Authorities said McKenna had made earlier statements about intending to kill Worthington because of Worthington's demands McKenna pay him for prior deliveries of controlled substances. They said he had conspired with Kroll to lure Worthington out of California and come with them to Missouri to complete a delivery and killed him by shooting him in the head.