On the evening of June 18, 2024, 50-year-old Ricky Allen was found dead from a gunshot wound to the chest at his home on Kountry Ridge Drive in Kearney, Missouri. A 911 call from the residence was placed by his wife, Melissa I. Hoffner-Allen, who told authorities she had shot her husband. Deputies found Allen deceased at the scene.

Court documents say Hoffner-Allen, 48 at the time, told detectives the couple had been arguing and that Allen had choked her. She said she went upstairs to get a handgun Allen had bought for her and returned to find him repeatedly telling her to shoot him, at which point she fired. Investigators noted visible bruising on Hoffner-Allen’s arms when she was booked; she was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action and pleaded not guilty.

Allen was described by his community as a well-loved musician and a union pipefitter, a father of three and grandfather of four. Does anyone who knew Ricky or lived on Kountry Ridge Drive in June 2024 have details that could help clarify what happened that night?