Karli Rickey was 10 feet from Wilson’s death; public defender claims Kaelin Rickey says on video she kicked him

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Karli Rickey said she went to Rumor Has It Bar and Grill on Hannibal’s Main Street in the early morning hours of Oct. 9, 2022, to pick up a bag of clothes from her sister, Kaelin.

Moments later, Karli saw Dusty Wilson die in the street just 10 feet away as she waited in her boyfriend’s truck.

Karli Rickey was the last witness for the prosecution, capping off the third day of the Tiara Bonner trial in St. Charles County Circuit Court on Wednesday. 

Bonner, 29, has been charged with first-degree assault and second-degree murder for her alleged involvement in the bar fight that resulted in the death of Wilson, 49, of Hannibal.

Bonner faces 10 to 30 years or a life sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections if found guilty on either charge, both Class A felonies.

Karli Rickey watched assault from parked truck

Karli, 21, testified she was with her boyfriend, Cayden Hill, who parked his truck in front of Native American Trading Post — next door to Rumor Has It. She said Hill wanted to get out of the truck and walk around, but after she retrieved the bag of clothes, she went back inside the truck.

“I remember hearing a lot of screaming and yelling, and then looking out the window to see a big group, which I presumed to be fighting,” Karli said.

She looked out the driver’s side vehicle of the truck and saw about 30 people.

“I remember hearing my sister Shannon come outside and yell that the cops had been called,” Karli said. “And at that point, people started to flee all over, so the crowd died down. I remember seeing Jason Anderson come back up and kick (Wilson) in what was like the shoulder area.”

“Did you see Tiara Bonner do anything?” Assistant Attorney General Corie Geary asked.

“I watched her pick her foot up and then stomp it down on the back of (Wilson’s) head while he was face first on the ground,” Karli replied.

Karli told Geary she didn’t see an altercation between Bonner and Wilson before the alleged stomping. 

“Did you ever see the victim take off Tiara Bonner’s wig?” Geary asked.

“I did not,” Karli replied.

“Did you ever see her shirt lifted?” Geary asked. 

“I did, but I did not see how it got lifted,” Karli replied.

Boyfriend told Karli Rickey to be quiet ‘before you get beat up’

Karli said she saw Bonner stomp on Wilson “multiple times.” 

“Did you scream anything to Tiara?” Geary asked.

“I tried to scream for her to stop, and that is when my boyfriend put his hand on my mouth and told me to be quiet before I got beat up as well,” Karli said.

Karli said she spoke with Allison Hamm, an officer with the Hannibal Police Department, at the scene of the crime. She said she originally told Hamm she didn’t see anything.

“Then I just thought about it and decided that I did not do the right thing,” Karli said. “Maybe a couple of hours later, I went to the police station.”

Karli said she did not see Kaelin do anything that night.

“If you have seen Kaelin do anything, would you have said something?” Geary asked.

“I would,” Karli said.

Karli took a five-second Snapchat video of Wilson receiving CPR that night, which she turned over to police investigators.

‘Jason and Tiara are lucky I’m not a snitch’

During cross-examination, Public Defender Austin Smith handed Karli a copy of a statement she made to the Hannibal Police Department at 5:03 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2022. She said in that statement she saw Bonner stomp “on that man’s head while he was still laying on the ground.”

“How many times?” Smith asked.

“Multiple times,” Karli said. “I want to say two to three times. I cannot give an exact amount. Like I said, it has been two years since this happened.”

Smith said during an August deposition that Karli said Bonner stomped on Wilson three times.

“That is what I said, but the more I think about it, it’s hard to really say how many times it was,” she said. “Like I said, it was two years ago, and I know that I said three times when I spoke to you, but I do not remember exactly how many times. I was not going to come in here and say an exact amount as of right now.”

“Are you telling me that when you told me, you didn’t really know either but you just said that number?” Smith asked.

“When I closed my eyes and I thought about it, it was three times,” Karli said.

Smith then said Karli said in her deposition, “I know I watched what I watched, because I watched Tiara lift her leg and hit the man in the head with her foot when he was already on the ground.”

When Smith asked Karli how hard Bonner stomped on Wilson, she said, “I can’t say how hard, but it was forceful.”

Smith then showed Karli a photo of a text message she sent Kaelin shortly after she left the scene of the crime. 

“I was talking about what I had just watched,” Karli said. 

The text message said, “That’s very disgusting, and Jason and Tiara are lucky I’m not a snitch, or I would have already told the cops who I could identify. Karma works in mysterious ways, and I hope that if that man is dead, that whoever was involved gets back what they deserve.”

Smith then wrapped up his cross-examination.

“Karma works in mysterious ways,” he said. “Is that a family motto?”

Surveillance video at Rumor Has It led to Kaelin Rickey arrest

During his earlier cross-examination of Ryan Mulheron, a field training officer with the Hannibal Police Department, Smith noted that Bonner, Jason Anderson, Thomas Payne and Jordan Payne all voluntarily turned themselves in to Hannibal Police — but Kaelin Rickey was arrested three days later at her job.

Shortly after Mulheron conducted an interview with Kaelin Rickey while she was working at a local nursing home, Smith said Mulheron saw — for the first time — a surveillance video from Rumor Has It. Mulheron later brought Kaelin Rickey back to the Hannibal Police Department for another interview, then arrested her.

“Miss Rickey did have a comment in that video that may shed some light on possibly what is in dispute,” Smith said. “There’s a reason why you went out and arrested her. Did you not?”

Mulheron said, “Correct.”

Smith then turned to Geary and said, “Want to object now?”

“Are you going to ask what she said? Because (if) then, yes,” Geary replied.

After a two-minute conference with Judge Christopher McDonough, Smith said to Mulheron, “And on that video, (Kaelin) said she kicked Dustin Wilson in the head.”

“Yes, she did,” Mulheron said.

“I’ll leave it at that for now,” Smith said.