Ex-husband involved in fatal shooting of woman who was denied protection order

The ex-husband of a Falkville woman was involved in her shooting death early Sunday, according to Priceville police, months after her petition for a protection from abuse order against him was denied by a Cullman County judge, and his current wife said she knew something like this would happen.

Kimberly Shaun Ricks, 33, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds after Priceville police said they responded to a residence on Langley Private Drive at around 5 a.m. Sunday. Police said she later died.

A man at the scene was taken in for questioning, according to police, before he was released pending further investigation.

“The two parties involved were actually married at one point to each other,” said Priceville police Chief Jerry Holmes on Monday. “They are no longer. But according to family, they were seeing each other again, just not living under the same household.

“We don’t have a particular direction we’re going just yet as far as self-defense or possible charges. We’re still waiting on a lot of test results to come back: autopsy, ballistics, etc. Once we get those results back, we’ll be closely working with the DA’s Office and will hopefully come to a resolution soon.”

Holmes declined to name the ex-husband.

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Divorce

Court records show Ricks filed for divorce from Zachery Allen Merriman, 33, in Cullman County in January 2019, citing “incompatibility of temperament.” The couple were married in 2011, shared three young children together, and separated in late 2018, according to the divorce complaint.

Merriman did not respond to inquiries on Monday.

Attorney Andria Sims, who represented Ricks in the divorce, said Monday that she didn’t recall anything unusual about the divorce or the relationship between Ricks and Merriman.

The couple was granted joint legal custody of the children, while Ricks was designated the physical custodian and Merriman was granted visitation.

Ricks filed a petition to modify custody and child support in February 2021. In it, she claimed Merriman’s girlfriend had physically abused one of the children, among other complaints. Ricks requested a reduction in Merriman’s visitation hours and a recalculation of child support.

In response, Merriman claimed Ricks had failed to comply with the visitation ordered in the divorce decree, among other violations, and that the Department of Human Resources found no evidence of abuse on the part of his girlfriend.

“The Defendant (Merriman) further alleges and avers that Plaintiff (Ricks) has continuously been violent physically and verbally to him in front of the parties minor children,” Merriman’s response reads.

The court had yet to rule on the petition to modify at the time of Ricks’ death. In January 2022, Merriman’s visitation rights were suspended “due to his incarceration,” according to a judge’s order. Cullman County court records show Merriman was charged in October 2021 with first-degree theft for allegedly stealing a pickup truck. He is scheduled to stand trial in that case in March 2025.

Merriman was arrested again in November 2023 and charged with first-degree receiving stolen property. According to a complaint filed in Morgan County District Court, Hartselle police found Merriman in possession of a stolen 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT. The charge is pending consideration by a grand jury.

Following a bond reduction hearing on Feb. 21 of this year, Circuit Judge Charles Elliott set Merriman’s bond at $15,000 with the condition that he enroll in and complete drug rehabilitation at Life House Deliverance Center in Arab. Merriman’s attorney in the case, Brandon Little, notified the court on March 8 that he had been complying with the order.

Ricks claimed Merriman had been stalking her in a petition she filed for a protection from abuse order on May 23. Merriman would routinely park on Ricks’ street and watch her home each time he was released from jail, according to Ricks. She said she had previously filed a police report about the alleged behavior.

Cullman County Circuit Judge Gregory Nicholas denied the petition the same day.

“Because the petition fails to allege a legally sufficient factual basis for issuance of a protection order, the petition is denied,” wrote Nicholas. “… Based on the petition filed herein, it appears that the primary purpose of Plaintiff in filing the petition is to obtain a custody judgment.”

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New wife, new protection order

Court records show Merriman married Katie Johns, 31, of Hanceville, in January 2023. They separated in November of that year, and Johns filed for divorce in February. It is still pending.

Johns said Monday that she dated Merriman briefly in high school before they reconnected in 2019. She said Merriman physically abused her on multiple occasions, including the morning of his arrest last November for allegedly receiving stolen property. She separated from him following the arrest and petitioned Cullman County Circuit for a protection from abuse order against him in February, and it was granted.

“It just kept getting worse,” said Johns. “Nov. 25 of last year — he ended up getting arrested — but that morning, he pulled a gun in my face because I went to turn the light out and shut the door before he left, and I guess he didn’t want me to shut the door yet, I don’t know.”

Johns said the incident happened at Merriman’s grandmother’s house on Langley Private Drive.

Among stalking and other alleged offenses, Johns claimed in her petition that Merriman beat her so badly last August that she fell unconscious. They were pulled over on the side of the road, she said, before they were later stopped by a police officer. Noticing her injuries, the officer asked Johns if she wanted medical attention, but she declined for fear of further abuse, according to her.

Court records show Merriman was charged twice — once in Morgan County and once in Blount County — with violating the protection order in March for allegedly inquiring after Johns at her last known residence and searching for her at her father’s home. He was scheduled to appear for a bench trial on the alleged Blount County offense on Monday, and the Morgan County offense on Oct. 30. Court records listed no defense attorney attached to the cases.

Johns felt a sense of dread when she learned the initial details of the shooting late Sunday morning.

“Just knowing the name of the road and then the first report online saying somebody called in about his ex-wife pulling a gun — I just knew it was him,” she said.

“I’m just really upset because I already knew this was coming. I already told them if he don’t get stopped I’m going to be the next one. I just figured it would be me. I just wish that something would have been done before now. This should not have happened.”