Ricky Ray Sides Sentenced to Life in Prison

A Kirksville man, 51-year old Ricky Ray Sides, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Colleen Gompakis on July 2nd, 2019. Sides pled guilty today to the charge of first-degree murder. The charge came after the Kirksville Police Department conducted a wellbeing check on Colleen Gompakis on July 5th, 2019. Upon arrival at her residence officers discovered Gompakis dead from a fatal head injury. The investigation quickly focused on Ricky Ray Sides, who had been living with Gompakis. Sides was arrested the next day at a local gas station. During an interview Sides admitted to the killing and stated he had been planning to murder her. The investigation determined that Sides killed Gompakis by repeatedly hitting her in the head with a barbell weight.