A former Ozark man is facing charges in a 1988 cold case murder. Joel Bremer, 60, now of Kansas City, was indicted by a grand jury on Friday, July 24, in the deaths of Ronna Bremer, 22, and their unborn child (At the time she disappeared, Ronna was seven months pregnant). He is charged with two counts of Second-Degree murder.
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. He appeared in court again on Thursday, Aug. 6 for a bond reduction hearing.
According to a press release from Brad Cole, sheriff of Christian County, Ronna Bremer was last seen on Dec. 20, 1988. Bremer reported her missing two days later.
In April of 1991, a skull was anonymously sent to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and was later sent to the University of Colorado. It remained unidentified until it was tested in 2001 and found to be Ronna’s.
In 2001 and 2002, the press release stated, Christian County detectives began interviewing individuals but then suspended the case, and it went cold. It was reopened in 2016 when investigators from the Christian County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol again began investigating and conducting interviews, but the case again went cold.
The investigation was opened again in November of 2024, this time with the assistance of a documentary team.
“During the investigation, detectives traveled to the States of Iowa and Nebraska to conduct interviews and gather information,” the press release stated. “At the same time, evidence that had been identified in 1989 was sent to a laboratory for examination, which revealed a DNA profile.”
Detectives continued to interview people and investigate, and they ultimately filed a report with the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, eventually leading to his arrest.
Cole said that investigators began looking at the case again because they were trying to see if they could find evidence that might have been overlooked earlier.
“It’s been a cold case for a long time, he said, “and we were just trying to look into some of the cold cases that we had on hand … to see if there was anything that had been missed previously that we might be able to act on. We've done that with several cases.”
Cole also said that he wasn’t able to reveal what investigators had learned from witnesses at this time, but that the information had been valuable to the investigation.
“Since it's an ongoing court issue, I can't (say anything) at this point,” he said, “but I will say that there were witnesses that provided helpful information to help us get to the point we're at,” adding that he was “absolutely certain” that the prosecuting attorney’s office could make a case against Bremer.
Additionally, Cole expressed his gratitude to those who investigated the case.
“A lot of time and a lot of hard work and effort that were put in by the detectives and the people working on the case to get to the point of where we're at,” he said. “They should be commended for their efforts, and I appreciate their hard work.”
The arrest isn’t Bremer’s first brush with the law. According to the press release, he was arrested in 1988 in Oskaloosa, Iowa for domestic assault against Ronna.
Bremer is also a convicted sex offender. According to unofficial court records, he pleaded guilty in May of 2001 to two counts of sex abuse, which occurred in Webster County. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for each count, which were served concurrently. According to information from the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s sex offender registry, the victim was a 13-year-old girl; Bremer was 34 at the time of the offense.
As of press time, Bremer remained in custody at the Christian County Jail in lieu of a $200,000 bond. No scheduled court date for him was available.
Ronna Bremer was laid to rest at the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Nebraska City, Neb.
