‘I lied and I lied and I lied’: Kaelin Rickey admits to participating in beating that led to Hannibal man’s death

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Kaelin Rickey admitted during her testimony on Thursday that she kicked Dusty Wilson as he laid motionless on Main Street during the early morning hours of Oct. 9, 2022.

Where she kicked Wilson remains unclear, depending on which version of the many times she’s talked about that night.

Three witnesses testified for the defense on the fourth day of a trial for Tiara Bonner in the St. Charles County Courthouse. Both Public Defender Austin Smith and Assistant Attorney General Corie Geary told Judge Christopher McDonough they had no further evidence, so closing statements are scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. Friday.

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.

Rickey, 28, testified for nearly 2½ hours, admitting to some of the information she gave investigators with the Hannibal Police Department in the first 48 hours after Wilson’s death outside of Rumor Has It Bar and Grill.

During the first 25 minutes of her testimony, Rickey explained her actions that night. She said she was using her medical marijuana vape pen, and when she exhaled, the vape smoke hit Wilson in the face.

“I didn’t intentionally do that,” she said. “I would not do that.”

She said Jason Anderson then took the vape pen from her, inhaled and blew it in Wilson’s face.

“It escalated from there,” Rickey said.

“Dusty got upset, but you don’t remember him saying or doing anything?” Smith said. “Somebody just told you he was upset later. Is that what I’m gathering?

“I mean, I think that he would probably be upset, because I did it and then somebody else did it,” Rickey said. “Wouldn’t that upset you if somebody already did it once, and then it happened again?”

When Smith asked what happened next, Rickey said, “I remember Tiara trying to hit him. … (Wilson) told her not to hit him like that.”

She then said Bonner slapped him in the face, and shortly afterward, Wilson and Thomas Payne started fighting.

Rickey said as she stood on the Main Street sidewalk with her sister, Shannon Rickey, the fight spilled out into the street. Eventually Wilson fell, and “people came over and were kicking him,” Rickey said.

When Smith asked how many, Rickey said, “A few.”

“To you, how many is a few?” Smith asked.

“I, myself, was one of them, and then there was Tiara and Jason,” Rickey replied.

She said Wilson had his hands up over his head when he was on the ground.

“I did what I did,” Rickey said.

“What did you do?” Smith asked. “I kicked him,” Rickey said.

“Where did you kick him?” Smith asked. “In the torso,” Rickey said.

“In the tummy? How did you kick him? Did you kick him hard, or did you kick him softly?” Smith asked. “It was softly,” Rickey said.

“How many times did you kick him?” Smith asked. “Once or twice,” Rickey said.

“Was there anybody else around when you did this?” Smith asked.

I have a lot of guilt,” Rickey said. “I have taken the blame for what I did that night.”

Rickey then said she walked to the other side of Main Street and eventually saw Bonner and Anderson kicking Wilson. She then said she saw Bonner stomp on Wilson’s head “at least three or four times.”

“How hard was she stomping on his head?” Smith asked. “I know it was with force,” Rickey said.

Rickey said she also saw Anderson kick Wilson. She then went inside the bar and said she called her father, Kevin Rickey.

“I was in there talking smack,” she said.

“What do you mean, talking smack?” Smith asked. “Saying I did something I didn’t do,” Rickey said.

“What did you say that you didn’t do?” Smith asked. “I said I kicked him in the face, but that was a lie. I was trying to be a hard ass,” Rickey said.

“Why don’t you tell the jury what you were trying to a hard ass about?” Smith said. “I said that I kicked (Wilson) in the face, but that was not what I did,” Rickey said.

“So why did you say it?” Smith asked. “I was trying to be cool. There was no excuse to do what I did,” Rickey said.

“Do you remember saying that (Wilson) took a swing at you?” Smith asked. “I only said he took a swing because that’s what people were saying,” Rickey said.

Smith continued to pepper Rickey with questions, especially when Smith asked about an interview by Dalton Benn, an officer with the Hannibal Police Department, at Rumor Has It on Oct. 9, 2022, inside Rumor Has It. Rickey softly replied several times, “I don’t remember,” only to have Smith hand her a typewritten copy of the interview.

“Would it help to refresh your recollection if I showed you the transcript?” he would ask.

Rickey admitted in subsequent interviews that she told an officer she tried to perform CPR on Wilson and that she told another officer she was “not involved in anything and didn’t see anything.”

“I lied and I lied and I lied because I was scared,” Rickey said. “I was scared of what I had done, and I didn’t know what was going to happen to me.”

“Did you ever deny striking anyone during that altercation?” Smith asked. “Yes, I did,” Rickey replied.

Smith played a surveillance video inside Rumor Has It that showed Rickey demonstrating a kicking motion to three men.

“Is that the reason why you were arrested?” Smith asked. “Correct,” Rickey replied.

“Is that the time you were telling the boys that (Wilson) got mad because I was hitting (the vape pen) outside, and I have a medical card?” Smith said. “Is that the time when you said you kicked him in the face and that you didn’t give an F?” Rickey answered yes to both questions.

Smith then referred to an interview with Det. Ryan Mulheron and Det. Jordan Freiling at the Hannibal Police Department when he said, “Do you remember they were asking you if you ever admitted to kicking anyone? Do you remember what you said?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Rickey replied. “Then they played the video.”

“Did you flat out deny ever touching him in the first part of that conversation?” Smith said. After Rickey said yes, Smith continued, “Did you do that repeatedly?”

“I don’t remember exactly word for word everything that was said,” Rickey said. “I just remember that, yes, I denied it and denied it and denied it, and then I became hysterical.”

“That was after they told you they were going to arrest you,” Smith said.

During cross-examination by Geary, Rickey repeated that she kicked Wilson in the torso and said some “dumb and crude things” that night. 

“And in all of your recantations of the assault, have you implicated Tiara Bonner every time?” Geary asked.

“No, ma’am. Wait. I’m sorry, I don’t know what that means,” Rickey said,

“Have you indicated that Tiara Bonner was a part of this assault from your very first interview?” Geary said.

“That is correct,” Rickey said.

Rickey pled guilty to one count of second-degree assault, a Class D felony, during a Sept. 25, 2023, appearance in the Boone County Courthouse. She is awaiting sentencing. In exchange for Rickey’s plea, counts of second-degree murder and evidence tampering were dismissed.