Final defendant in 2020 Nortonville homicide sentenced

By Benjamin Cox on October 8, 2026 at 10:33am

The last defendant in a five-year-old Morgan County murder case has been sentenced.

Forty one-year-old Laura Acree, of Murrayville, was sentenced Tuesday afternoon in Morgan County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice, a Class Four felony.

Acree was sentenced to two years of probation through the Second Chance Program. She was also fined one-thousand-149 dollars, ordered to complete 30 hours of community service and will be subject to periodic drug testing during her probation.

As part of a plea agreement, a Class Three felony charge of concealment of a homicidal death was dismissed.

The case dates back to October of 2020, when 32-year-old Robert “Joey” Schofield of Nortonville was reported missing. His body was found four days later buried in a field near Gobblers Road. An autopsy determined Schofield died from a gunshot wound.

Acree’s husband, Kenneth Acree, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death in March of 2025 prior to a trial. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Schofield’s wife, Sara Schofield, pleaded guilty to concealment of a homicidal death in April and was sentenced to two years in prison.

With Laura Acree’s sentencing, all three defendants connected to Schofield’s death have now been sentenced.