Prosecuting attorney says Bonner stomped on Hannibal man’s head; public defender points finger at someone else

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Luke Bryant told jurors during his opening statement in the Tiara Bonner trial that a confrontation outside Rumor Has It Bar and Grill in Hannibal during the early morning hours of Oct. 9, 2022, was anything but a typical bar fight.

“There is nothing normal about four people ganging up against one man,” Bryant said Tuesday morning in St. Charles County Circuit Court. “There is nothing normal to continue to assault a person who is unconscious on the ground. There is nothing normal about stomping and kicking someone, and there is nothing normal about the merciless treatment shown by Jason Anderson, Kaelin Rickey, Thomas Payne and Tiara Bonner.

“Nothing can bring Dusty (Wilson) back to his family.”

Bonner, 29, appeared with Public Defender Austin Smith before Circuit Judge Christopher McDonough and a six-man, six-woman jury for the second day of what is expected to be a five-day trial. She 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.

Smith’s defense of Bonner in his opening statement eventually led to him pointing an accusatory finger at Kaelin Rickey.

Smith’s explanation to the jury of what happened on Oct. 9, 2022, was a little murkier. It was late at night, and it was closing time at Rumor Has It. Wilson was outside the bar on the sidewalk, arguing with a group of people. That discussion eventually moved onto Main Street.

“It gets confusing fast,” he said. “Interestingly, almost every witness agrees that this happened quickly. Toward the end, a lot of people were outside, and a large group of people got around them, surrounded them, multiracial — plenty of white people and plenty of black people in that group. They appeared, to some of the witnesses, that they were kicking and punching on Dusty.”

Smith said the state’s own medical examiner — “if they call him,” he said — will testify that the injuries to Wilson’s head and face were superficial. He claimed no evidence in the case will show Wilson was stomped or kicked in the head.

“We have our expert medical examiner. They have theirs,” Smith said.

Smith also suggested Kaelin Rickey, not his client, was the one who kicked Wilson that night. She 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 her plea, counts of second-degree murder and evidence tampering were dismissed.

“(Kaelin Rickey is) seen and heard (on video) telling a young man … that Dusty got mad because I was outside hitting this,” Smith said, explaining that she was holding a marijuana vape pen. “Then she said, ‘I kicked him right in the face. I don’t give a f**k.’ And then she does an exaggerated kicking motion. Bang, bang, bang.”

Smith said Kaelin Rickey quickly pointed out Bonner, Anderson, Thomas Payne and Jordan Payne for their roles in Wilson’s death.

“Her statements keep changing,” he said. “Over time, you’ll hear that evidence will show little Kaelin never told Sgt. (Matthew) Wilt (with the Hannibal Police Department) what she did.”

Smith then said Kaelin Rickey later told HPD Det. Ryan Mulheron she was outside the bar, trying to “protect Dusty from all these terrible people.”

After Mulheron learned of the video, he brought Kaelin Rickey to the Hannibal Police Department for another interview.

“They talked to her. That’s all recorded. She lied and lied and lied,” Smith said. “She said, ‘I never kicked that man.’ She said that to Det. Mulherin at least five, six times. When she was finally confronted with this video, she continued to lie and went into hysterics. They thought they were going to have to call an ambulance.

“Karma works in mysterious ways.”

Bryant’s opening statement started with a summary of Wilson’s activity on Oct. 8, 2022. Wilson participated in a golf outing with family and friends, then went to the American Legion bar to watch football and have a few drinks. The group later visited Sportsman’s Bar and Old Milt’s, a strip club, before leaving at approximately 1:15 a.m. to go to Rumor Has It.

A crowd estimated to be between 30 and 50 people left Rumor Has It at the 1:30 a.m. closing time and moved onto the sidewalk.

“They’re having a good time, and they’re trying to decide what to do with the rest of their night,” Bryant said.

Wilson and his group see a group of people outside Rumor Has It and get out of their car.

“He’s highly intoxicated, and he’s stumbling through the crowd and bumps into Jordan Payne, who takes offense to that,” Bryant said. “Dustin took offense to Jordan Payne’s reactions, and some very harsh words were exchanged between the two.”

Both sides were separated, and Bryant said Wilson eventually met Kaelin Rickey, smoking her marijuana vape pen outside the bar, and Anderson.

“Dusty knew Kaelin, and he starts an exchange with her about smoking marijuana, which upset Jason Anderson,” Bryant said. “Jason Anderson takes that weed pen away, and he blows the smoke in Dusty’s face. And now, a new confrontation.”

Bryant said more arguing ensued, and Bonner gets herself involved, slapping Wilson. The crowd then went into Main Street. As Wilson backpedals into the street, he gets ready to fight Thomas Payne, who punches once. Wilson throws an ineffective punch because he’s too drunk, and Thomas Payne punches him again, knocking him down.

“At one point, Tiara Bonner steps in, and she’s wrestling and there’s rolling around. Some witnesses will tell you it looks like a wrestling match,” Bryant said. 

Bryant said people in the crowd began kicking and punching Wilson as he lay on the ground, face down.

“Dusty, at this point, is unconscious,” Bryant said. “Tiara stands up, and she stomps the top of his head two or three times.”

Wilson eventually was transported to Hannibal Regional Hospital, where lifesaving measures started. He eventually was flown to University Hospital in Columbia, where he died on Oct. 9, 2022.

“The trauma to Dusty’s brain caused it to swell, and that swelling squeezed the brainstem at the top of his spine,” Bryant said. “It cut off communication to his heart and his mind, and ultimately, that’s what killed him.”