Hannibal woman pleads guilty to assault in connection to death outside Hannibal bar; sentencing set for Feb. 13

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Hannibal woman recently pled guilty to assault in connection to the death of a man outside a Hannibal bar in October 2022.

Kaelin Rickey, 27, of Hannibal pled guilty to one count of second-degree assault, a Class D felony, during a Sept. 25 appearance with attorney Jessica Caldera before Judge Jeff Harris in the Boone County Courthouse. In exchange for Rickey’s plea, counts of second-degree murder and evidence tampering were dismissed.

Rickey is scheduled to be sentenced by Harris on Feb. 13. A Class D felony in Missouri is punishable by up to seven years in prison or one year in the county jail. The court also can impose a fine of up to $10,000.

Rickey’s case was set to go to trial in August, but attorney Matthew Radefeld withdrew from the case on July 5. Caldera entered an appearance as Rickey’s attorney on July 19.

A probable cause statement from the Hannibal Police Department Police indicated officers with the Hannibal Police Department reported at around 1:50 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, to the 100 block of North Main to investigate an assault outside Rumors Bar and Grill. 

Upon arrival, officers found a male victim, Dusty Wilson, 49, of Hannibal, on Main Street with substantial head trauma. Wilson was transported to Hannibal Regional Hospital and later to a trauma center in Columbia, Mo., where he died from his injuries.

During the initial investigation, Rickey was interviewed on the scene as a witness and originally reported seven or eight people were in the street arguing. She said she was inside Rumors and did not see the entire fight. She also provided investigators a photo of Jason Anderson, who later was charged with second-degree murder. 

Rickey denied striking anyone and said she saw Tiara Bonner, who later was charged with second-degree murder, striking a person (whose name was redacted on the probable cause statement) and Anderson kicking that person in the head. However, one of the people arrested for their involvement in the incident said Rickey instigated a fight, telling an unidentified person to “get the f*ck out of there.”

Rickey was later contacted at her place of employment and provided a written statement saying she never struck an unidentified person. She claimed to have only stopped between an unidentified person and Bonner while they argued on the sidewalk.

Police obtained a video from Rumors by a search warrant. Rickey was seen and heard on the video at approximately 1:54 a.m.

Rickey was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022.