Mary Thompson

A Cave City woman with a lengthy criminal history told Kentucky State Police that she killed Dealynn O’Connor, who was found shot to death inside her Smiths Grove home last month.

Police found O’Connor, 51, on June 17 dead inside her rental home at 1325 Hays Lodge Road.

While investigating O’Connor’s death, state police said Mary Rebecca Thompson’s name came up several times. On Wednesday, state police learned that Thompson, 35, was staying at a home on Richpond-Rockfield Road.

Police began surveillance of the home and confirmed Thompson was staying at 3318 Richpond-Rockfield Road, according to her arrest citation.

After a several hour standoff with state police, she was arrested on multiple unrelated outstanding warrants early Thursday morning, according to the citation.

Police interviewed Thompson, who also is known by the aliases of Rebecca Pierce, Jax Reed and Kat Taylor, and she admitted to shooting and killing O’Connor, according to the arrest citation. The citation does not list a motive for the shooting but does say that the two women were acquaintances.

During a Friday morning court hearing, her bond was set at $1 million.

O’Connor was also the victim of an assault and kidnapping in Radcliff on Jan. 31, Radcliff Police Department Capt. Willie Wells said.

Five people have been arrested in that case. Trevor Brown, 20, Angela New, 43, Schawn Millin, 38, Chris Deaton, 28, and Marc McCoy, age unavailable, are all under indictment in Hardin County, accused of complicity to kidnapping, first-degree assault of O’Connor and other offenses. O’Connor was stabbed multiple times during that incident.

Authorities have not said if the two incidents are related.

Thompson’s address is listed as 452 Peterson-Morrison Road, Cave City. She has a long criminal history in Warren and surrounding counties, according to Warren Circuit Court Clerk records.

A Warren County grand jury indicted Thompson in May on charges of first-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree wanton endangerment, possession of drug paraphernalia, speeding, reckless driving, failure to or improper signal, operating on a suspended or revoked license and first-degree persistent felony offender.

That indictment stems from a Smiths Grove police chase May 13 in which police received a complaint of a reckless and possibly intoxicated driver.

Smiths Grove Police Chief Johnny Vance saw the car on Main Street that afternoon and attempted to stop the driver, according to a May news release from Vance. The chase through rural Smiths Grove traveled the entire length of Hays Smiths Grove Road and reached speeds in excess of 80 mph. It ended after Thompson crashed the car she was driving into an embankment, according to the release. She was flown to a Nashville trauma center where she was treated and released.

Vance confirmed Friday that the woman from that incident and the Thursday murder arrest is the same Mary Thompson. He did not know if Thompson had been to O’Connor’s home on the day of the chase.

Prior to being charged with murder, state police arrested Thompson on several warrants from various police agencies on a range of charges, including first-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree wanton endangerment, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and probation violation.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled on the murder charge at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron said.

— Follow Assistant City Editor Deborah Highland on Twitter @BGDNCrimebeat or visit bgdailynews.com.