Rucker enters guilty plea in murder, escape attempt

Nicholas Rucker has entered a guilty plea to numerous charges, including murder, in the 2019 death of Vicki Conner and a subsequent failed attempt to escape from jail.

Following case mediation, Rucker, 42, entered the plea in Whitley Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon.

Rucker faced charges of murder, tampering with physical evidence and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in connection to Conner’s death, as well as charges of attempting to escape from a penitentiary and three counts of kidnapping stemming from an April 2022 incident in which he and another inmate attempted to escape from the Whitley County Detention Center.

For more information, including the Rucker’s recommended prison sentence, see the Feb. 15 edition of the News Journal.