MT. VERNON, IL — A 43-year-old Mount Vernon woman is the fifth person charged in connection to the murder last month of a 19-year-old man in Olney. On Thursday, Misty D. Whipple was arrested on a Jefferson County warrant charging her with one count of aiding a fugitive for her alleged role in the September 6th murder of Kyle M. Johnson.
Whipple is alleged to have helped 18-year-old Rick Meador flee from a warrant for his arrest issued in the State of Illinois. She allegedly rented a van that was used to take Meador and his 16-year-old girlfriend to Florida, with the intent to help them escape the law. Whipple appeared in court Friday where bail was set at $30,000 and a pre-trial hearing in her case was scheduled for the morning of November 3rd.
Meador, of Olney, was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He is currently being held at the Richland County Jail.
Johnson was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of North Walnut and East Laurel Street in Olney. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Meador and his juvenile girlfriend were believed to have initially fled from Olney to Mt. Vernon where a vehicle they were believed to be driving at the time was found abandoned. Both were later located in Florida and arrested before being returned to Illinois to face charges.
The first person arrested and charged in connection with Johnson’s death was 33-year-old Tara N. Haws, of Olney, who is the mother of Meador’s 16-year-old girlfriend. Haws is charged in Richland County Court with first-degree murder by accountability, as is her juvenile daughter and 32-year-old Dale E. Boatman, Jr., all of Olney.