Man is charged in killing of Independence woman

A 26-year-old Kansas City man was charged Thursday in the stabbing death of an Independence woman earlier this week.

Cory L. King is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 63-year-old Louise M. Dickey.

King was also charged by Jackson County prosecutors with armed criminal action.

Dickey was found dead Tuesday night inside her home in the 10400 block of East 27th Street. Concerned neighbors found Dickey after they noticed her car was missing, according to court documents.

Her throat had been cut and she was also stabbed multiple times in the chest.

Independence police later found her vehicle at a Truman Road convenience store.

Video surveillance from the store captured King using Dickey’s debit card at an ATM outside the business, according to the allegations.

King was also seen on the video making several phone calls. Police later determined that Dickey’s cellphone had been used about the same time.

Additional video from a drugstore showed King and Dickey together Monday, the day she was killed.

After he was found Tuesday night at a Kansas City motel, King admitted to the killing, police said. He told police he was under the influence of drugs and they argued after she refused to let him sleep on her couch.

He told police that he had known Dickey most of his life because she was a close friend of his aunt.

Dickey lived alone and was retired from her accounting job at the Russell Stover office in Kansas City, said her daughter, Miranda Rice. A car wreck had left Dickey injured and unable to lift more than 5 pounds with either hand. She lived on disability benefits.

Rice visited her mother weekly to help around the house and check on Dickey’s three cats, Monkey, Chloe and Reba — the latter named after Dickey’s favorite musician, Reba McEntire.

“She loved singing and music,” Rice said. “She’s never hurt anybody. I’m just really going to miss her. We’re a pretty small family.”

Dickey’s 88-year-old mother lives in Lee’s Summit with Rice’s brother. Apart from them, Rice said, the family includes an uncle in Detroit but few others.

Rice said that she would find new homes for the three cats.

Prosecutors have requested a $500,000 cash bond for King.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 10:43 AM with the headline "Man is charged in killing of Independence woman."