A third suspect has been charged in the late-December murder of William Stucker, 70, Eminence, and court records show additional felony charges have been filed against two of the suspects in counties across the northwest corner of the state for other crimes allegedly committed both before and after the murder.
Crystle J.A. Wilson, 36, Sedalia, is charged in Shannon County with hindering the prosecution of a felony. Wilson allegedly disposed of the murder weapon, a .38-caliber pistol, after the Dec. 26, 2023, shooting death of Stucker at his home.
According to a statement submitted to Shannon County prosecutors by Cpl. Paul Wells of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control, Wilson was arrested on unrelated charges by the Sedalia Police Department in April. During a law enforcement interview, she reportedly said she had knowledge of a murder that was committed in the "Springfield area” and knew where the murder weapon was located, but refused to give further information without the presence of an attorney. The Shannon County charge was filed Tuesday and further court appearances have yet to be scheduled in that case.
Court records show Wilson pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance on Feb. 29 in Saline County and was handed a 15-year prison sentence that was to be executed if she failed to complete five years of supervised probation.
On April 26, Wilson was arrested by the Sedalia Police Department on a Harrison County warrant for a charge of first-degree robbery, and was reportedly found in possession of methamphetamine, amphetamine and methylphenidate, a substance commonly known by the brand name Ritalin, in quantities and packaging that suggested she was selling the drugs.
She is charged in Pettis County with second-degree drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance and is held there on $100,000 bond. It is the same county where, in 2018, she pleaded guilty to a count each of second-degree drug trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia, four counts of delivery of a controlled substance and three counts of first-degree child endangerment. Court records show she was sentenced to 10 years in that case.
The Harrison County charge was filed because of Wilson's alleged involvement in a robbery in July 2023 in Belton, Cass County, several months before the Shannon County murder. Court records show a codefendant in that case is boyfriend Richard M. King-Romero, 41, whose city of residence is listed as Independence and Sedalia in different court records. King-Romero is also the suspect who allegedly shot Stucker and is charged with second-degree murder and stealing a vehicle in that case.
Patrick L. Paul, 26, is the third suspect in the murder case and faces the same charges as King-Romero, plus stealing.
Wilson’s bond in the Harrison County case is set at $90,000 cash only, court records show. A Harrison County warrant for King-Romero was issued April 11, with a $150,000 cash-only bond, and court records on recent Pettis County charges note he is being held in another county.
That appears to be Douglas County. On Feb. 12, it is alleged, he stole tobacco pouches from another man and struck him the face while the two were cellmates in Douglas County Jail. He is charged with second-degree robbery and third-degree domestic assault in that case, and is held with a $15,000 cash-only bond on a grand jury indictment warrant that was served May 19 in Douglas County.
Court records show he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on June 4 and is to make an appearance on June 20 before 44th Judicial Associate Circuit Court Judge R. Craig Carter.
In the meantime, King-Romero's murder case was transferred to Texas County after a request for a change of judge and change of venue was granted, and court records show he is to stand trial beginning Feb. 24, 2025, before Associate 25th Circuit Judge Brad Eidson.
Paul's trial is set to begin Feb. 4, 2025, in Shannon County to be heard by 37th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Steven Privette.
