The murder of Ricky Ridings
Callaway County, Missouri · 1981
Overview
Ricky Ridings, a 27-year-old man from St. Peters, Missouri, was reported missing on June 30, 1981, and was found dead on July 8, 1981 inside a vehicle parked alongside Little Tavern Creek outside Portland, in Callaway County, killed by a shotgun wound to the head. The case stayed cold for 36 years. The break did not come from DNA: in June 2017, Conrad Schmitt III, who was already serving a life sentence for an unrelated 1998 first-degree murder, was overheard on a recorded prison phone call admitting his involvement in the killing. Investigators reopened the file, exhumed Ridings' body in 2018 to reevaluate the evidence, and interviewed further witnesses. A Callaway County grand jury indicted Schmitt for capital murder in May 2018, and in 2023 he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to an additional 10 years.
How it was solved
The Ridings case was solved primarily through new, non-DNA evidence generated by a cold-case re-investigation. In June 2017 the Callaway County Sheriff's Office received new information after Schmitt, already imprisoned for a separate 1998 murder, was captured on a recorded prison phone call saying he had been involved in Ridings' killing. That recording prompted a full cold-case review: in 2018 Ridings' body was exhumed so the evidence could be reevaluated, the family was notified of the developments, and additional witnesses were interviewed. The reconstructed case was strong enough for a Callaway County grand jury to return a capital murder indictment in May 2018. After roughly five years of preparation, Schmitt pleaded guilty in 2023 to manslaughter, admitting to recklessly shooting and killing Ridings, in exchange for cooperating and answering the family's questions.
Sources
- Ricky Ridings' cold case solved after 36-year investigation
“In 2018, Ridings' body was exhumed to reevaluate the evidence. The Ridings' family was notified of the new developments in their case, and further witnesses were interviewed.”
- Convicted murderer pleads guilty to 1981 Callaway County killing
“Schmitt admitted to killing Ridings in a recorded prison phone call in June 2017.”
- Prison inmate indicted in 1981 murder of St. Peters man
“Schmitt had been incarcerated since 1998 after a jury convicted him of First Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action in a separate case.”
- Murder charge filed in 1981 Callaway County killing
“Ridings, who had been reported missing by his family June 30, 1981.”
- Grand jury indicts man of capital murder connected with 1981 Callaway County homicide
“The grand jury issued a true bill, an indictment for Schmitt on the charge of capital murder based on the statute for premeditated murder.”
- Man serving life sentence for murder pleads guilty to 1981 killing in Callaway County
“Schmitt, already in prison for another murder, was heard on a recorded prison phone call saying that he had been involved in the killing.”
- Man charged in 1981 Callaway County killing sentenced to 10 years
“Schmitt admitted to recklessly shooting and killing Ricky Ridings in summer 1981 in Callaway County.”
- Man sentenced in 1981 cold case
“He was sentenced to 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.”
- Suspect implicated in Tavern Creek mystery
“Human remains were found in a vehicle parked alongside Little Tavern Creek on July 8, 1981, and the body was identified as Ridings.”