Sarah Lawson/St. Joe Now

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd announces charges against John M. Hughes and Dana K. Tutor Friday afternoon at a press conference at the Platte County Courthouse. Mr. Hughes and Ms. Tutor are accused of luring Valentin Kirilchuk into a restroom, where he was robbed and killed on Sept. 8, 2008.

PLATTE CITY, Mo. — A 13-month investigation into the murder of a truck driver stopped at an Interstate 29 rest area has ended, with charges filed against two people from Mississippi.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd charged John M. Hughes, 33, and Dana K. Tutor, 34, in the shooting death of Valentin G. Kirilchuk, a truck driver from Springfield, Mo. Mr. Kirilchuk, 39, died of an apparent gunshot wound to the head on Sept. 8, 2008. A passer-by found his body in a men’s lavatory at the rest area near Dearborn, Mo.

Mr. Hughes is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action for allegedly shooting Mr. Kirilchuk. He is in an Ohio prison, serving a life sentence for the August 2008 knife-stabbing murder and robbery of David Durben in Zanesville, Ohio. The robbery involved the theft of weapons, including a Hi-Point 9 mm pistol. Mr. Zahnd alleges Mr. Hughes used the pistol in the murder of Mr. Kirilchuk.

Mr. Zahnd said Mr. Hughes was stopped by the Nebraska State Patrol for allegedly driving while intoxicated in York County that September. The state of Ohio had a warrant out for Mr. Hughes’ arrest. A search of Mr. Hughes’ vehicle uncovered the pistol, Mr. Zahnd said.

In the time since, Ohio tried Mr. Hughes and convicted him for the stabbing death of Mr. Durben. Subsequent testing this year by the Missouri State Highway Patrol revealed a DNA mixture consistent with Mr. Kirilchuk’s DNA on an area of the pistol, officials said.

Ms. Tutor is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree robbery for her alleged role in the crime. She is serving a sentence in Mississippi for uttering a forgery, Mr. Zahnd said.

Court records revealed that at about 7 p.m. that Sept. 8, Mr. Kirilchuk was sitting in his semi in the rest area when Ms. Tutor talked to him through a side window, saying she needed $100. The trucker followed the woman into the rest area’s main building.

Mr. Hughes was pretending to use a pay phone, court records stated. After the victim passed, Mr. Hughes got behind him, and at gunpoint forced him into the nearby restroom. Once inside, Mr. Hughes shot the victim in the head at close range. Mr. Hughes proceeded to rob Mr. Kirilchuk, taking a wallet with $200 and a cell phone. The couple left in Ms. Tutor’s Trailblazer.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Scott Nace filed a probable cause statement, stating that Mr. Hughes confessed to the murder. The state has begun extradition proceedings to get Mr. Hughes, who is in Ohio, and Ms. Tutor, who is in Mississippi.

Mr. Zahnd has had discussions with the victim’s family and will personally prosecute the case. No decision has been reached about whether the death penalty would be sought.

Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.