Nearly eight years after a Missouri man’s death was ruled a drowning, authorities say three men have now been charged with murder.

Zachary Dalton Watson, Austin Drake Womack, and Ronald D. Brawley III, are all facing second-degree murder charges in connection with the death of Robbie Crites on the Jacks Fork River, the Shannon County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared on Thursday, March 5.

It’s unclear if the accused men have entered pleas or retained attorneys to speak on their behalf. They are each being held on $250,000 cash bond, per the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office said the case was reopened at the beginning of 2025, when investigators conducted what they described as an “extensive and thorough review of the original investigation, evidence, and circumstances surrounding Robbie’s death.”

They added that the re-investigation uncovered new information suggesting Crites’ death was “not accidental” and revealed “significant unanswered questions” and “inconsistencies” in the original case, prompting investigators to pursue the case further.

According to the criminal complaints filed in Shannon County Circuit Court this month and obtained by PEOPLE, authorities allege that on or around June 16, 2018, each of the men acted with “another person or persons” with the intent to “cause serious physical injury to Victim 1.”

They allegedly physically assaulted the victim, wrapped him in fishing line and then dumped him in the river, causing him to “drown to death,” the complaints state.

Zachary D. Watson, Ronald D. Brawley III, and Austin D. Womack.Shannon County, MO. Sheriff’s Office

While court documents do not list Robbie’s age, an online memorial page states he was 20 when he died.

According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE, witnesses told police that Womack admitted to killing Crites more than once.

About three weeks after Crites’ death, one witness recalled asking Womack, “Hey, aren’t you one of the boys who killed Robbie?” According to the affidavit, Womack allegedly replied, “Yeah, I killed that motherf***er. He owed me money for dope,” before walking away.

On another occasion, according to the affidavit, another witness alleged that Womack told a group of people during a bonfire that he killed Crites for sexually assaulting his sister. Womack also allegedly described the killing, saying he beat and stabbed Crites with a fishing hook before kicking him in the river. The witnesses claimed that Womack also told them Brawley and Watson “didn’t do it,” per the affidavit.

According to probable cause affidavits tied to Brawley and Watson, witnesses said the two men dropped Crites off at the river around 7:30 a.m. When they returned two hours later, he was gone. Later that afternoon, between noon and 3:30 p.m., Brawley and Watson reportedly asked the witnesses for fishing supplies. Soon after, the men disappeared.

A witness said when Crites was later pulled out of the water by authorities, he had “fishing line wrapped around his ankles, knees and back” as well as a “‘grab hook’ entering his rib cage area,” per the affidavit.

Another witness told investigators that Brawley made a drunken confession about Crites’ death two days after it happened.

“Ronnie said the incident started over a drug deal that turned into a fight,” the witness said, per the affidavits. “Robbie owed Ronnie and A. Womack money. A. Womack and Ronnie gave Robbie a gram of methamphetamine for $100 dollars. Robbie never paid them.”

The witness reported that Brawley and Watson spent all day the river with Crites before Womack showed up.

According to the affidavit, the witness alleged “Ronnie threw the first punch, then A. Womack jumped in. Zack mouthed off to Robbie before going to his truck. Ronnie thought he had killed Robbie, so he and A. Womack put Robbie in the bushes, then wrapped Robbie in fishing wire and put him in the river underneath a log.”

According to the witness, after sharing this, Brawley allegedly stopped crying and then acted as if “nothing had happened,” the affidavit states.

The sheriff’s office said the case remains active and ongoing, and additional information may be released as the investigation continues.

“Our investigators refused to let this case remain closed when the facts did not add up,” the statement reads. “This office is committed to seeking justice, no matter how much time has passed.”