A former Ozark man is facing two counts of Second-Degree murder in the 1988 deaths of his wife and unborn child. Joel Bremer, 60, now of Kansas City, was indicted by a grand jury on Friday, July 24, in the murder of Ronna Bremer, and his unborn child (At the time she disappeared, Ronna was seven months pregnant). Bremer was arrested on July 31 by the U.S. Marshal Service. He was booked into the Christian County Jail on Sunday, Aug. 2, and arraigned at the Christian County Courthouse on Monday, Aug. 3.
According to a press release from Brad Cole, Christian County sheriff, Ronna Bremer, 22, was reported missing by Joel Bremer on Dec. 22, 1988. A human skull was sent anonymously to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and it was later sent to the University of Colorado, but it was unidentified. In 2001, it was identified as being Ronna Bremer’s. Christian County detectives interviewed individuals, but suspended the investigation, and it became a cold case until 2016, when it was reopened.
Investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office conducted interviews and investigation in 2016 and 2017, but the case went cold again.
The press release stated that in 2024, Christian County detectives began working the case again with a documentary team, during which they traveled to Nebraska and Iowa to conduct interviews and investigate. In Iowa, detectives obtained an arrest report from the Oskaloosa, Iowa Police Dept. from when Joel Bremer was arrested for domestic assault against Ronna Bremer. Meanwhile, evidence that was obtained in 1989 was sent to a laboratory for examination, which revealed a DNA profile. Detectives continued to conduct interviews and investigations for several months, and they ultimately filed a report with the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Bremer is also a convicted sex offender. On May 1, 2001, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse in Webster County, Mo., for which he was sentenced to seven-year prison sentences, served concurrently. The victim in that case was a 13-year-old girl.
Bremer currently remains in custody in the Christian County Jail in lieu of a $200,000 surety bond. He will appear in court on Thursday, Aug. 6, for a bond reduction hearing.
This is a developing story, and more information will be provided as it becomes available.
