A Parsons woman on Wednesday received just over 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and another felony for her role in a 2023 death.
Kimberly Jean Nibarger, 49, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and first-degree murder in Neosho County District Court. Her husband, Clint Nibarger, faces similar charges. He pleaded to lesser charges in his case — second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder — but decided to change attorneys before sentencing. That was in the fall. He will return to court on May 7 for a status hearing.
The Nibargers are accused of fatally shooting Dakota Patton. Patton was last seen alive with the Nibargers — her name was Kimberly Thomas at the time — on April 25, 2023, at Pete’s in Parsons. Thomas and Nibarger wed soon after.
Patton’s body was found on the south side of 20th Road between Xavier and Wallace roads in Neosho County on May 8, 2023. Clint Nibarger told a friend in Hollister, Missouri, that he had shot Patton in the face.
On Feb. 24, Kimberly Nibarger pleaded to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, a level two felony, and obstructing apprehension, a lower-level felony. The recommended sentence was 125 months in state prison with credit for time served in the Neosho County Jail while her case was active.
On Wednesday, Deputy Kansas Attorney General Jessica Domme said Nibarger had accumulated 709 days of credit, or just about two years. Upon her release from prison, Nibarger will be on parole supervision for three years and she will register as a violent offender for 15 years, Domme said.
Domme requested restitution of $5,230.88 from Nibarger and her husband, Clint, if his conviction stands. The recommendation was that 25% of Kimberly Nibarger’s earnings while in prison be applied to restitution. The Neosho County Sheriff’s Office also requested reimbursement for $2,895 for medical expenses incurred by Kimberly Nibarger while in jail.
Patton’s family gave statements before Judge Daryl Ahlquist announced the sentence on Wednesday.
Melissa Patton, Dakota’s mom, showed pictures of her son to Nibarger and the judge from behind the podium and then from in front of the podium.
“You had no right to do that to him,” she said to Nibarger. “You don’t ever deserve to be out of prison again.”
Patrick Patton, Dakota’s older brother, also spoke. He said a part of him died when his brother did. They would participate in outdoor activities together, and they would fight like siblings do. He said he had trouble expressing the depth of his loss. He added that Nibarger deserved more prison time than she was getting.
His father, Greg Patton, was not able to speak, so someone read his comments.
“I miss him every day,” she said. “My heart is broken because he is gone.”
Sue DeVoe, Nibarger’s attorney, asked Judge Ahlquist to remove the no contact order between Kimberly Nibarger and her husband, Clint, once his case was resolved. Kimberly Nibarger made no statement to the judge during allocution.
Ahlquist sentenced Nibarger to a controlling 125 months in prison and gave her credit for time served in jail. He ordered restitution of $5,230.88, payable from 25% of her income earned while in prison.
Kimberly Nibarger still faces a deferred sentencing hearing in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, for child abuse. A hearing in that case will be May 19. She faced up to 60 months in prison in Oklahoma.s In October 2024, he pleaded to amended charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Before he was to be sentenced, he parted ways with his court-appointed attorney and a new attorney is on his case.
370, or more than 30 years. In May 2015, Nibarger pleaded to felony child abuse in Oklahoma, according to filings in the case. Her sentencing was deferred for 10 years. However, she had two years of probation supervision during that time, was to complete 40 hours of community service and attend parenting classes.
The case file said that Nibarger, then Thomas, in 2014 had her stepson get out of the car in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, and she drove off out of sight of him. She reports in the plea that she returned immediately, but her stepson had already summoned help from a neighbor and was frightened.
The Lincoln County district attorney filed a motion to accelerate the deferred sentencing, which wasn’t supposed to happen until May this year.
