Fugitive murder suspect arrested in Knox County

KNOX COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – A Whitley County murder suspect, on the run since May, is behind bars in Knox County.

According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, 38-year-old Nicholas Rucker was arrested Thursday morning in Corbin.

Rucker is accused of killing his girlfriend, 57-year-old Vicki Conner, who was found shot to death at her home in the Woodbine community on May 22.

A murder warrant was issued for Rucker, who eluded authorities until Thursday, when someone called the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, saying Rucker was spotted at a home on Meadow Lark Circle in Corbin.

Deputies went to the home and say they saw Rucker walking out from some woods and through the backyard of the home.

When they called for him, they say Rucker ran into the home then ran back out when a deputy went inside.

The deputies chased him, tackled him to the ground and, after a brief struggle, they say they took Rucker into custody.

Rucker is charged with murder, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, fleeing or evading police, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and buying/possessing drug paraphernalia.

He is being held in the Knox County Detention Center on a $750,000 bond.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Knox County on Monday at 10 a.m.