September 18th, 2025 Local News
Washington Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A Franklin County man tied to the murder of a Sullivan resident has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison.
35-year-old Cody Hunt, of Sullivan, was found guilty in Washington County in June of abandonment of a corpse, knowingly burning, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.
On Monday, he was sentenced to seven years each for the first three charges and ten years for tampering with a motor vehicle. The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively, giving Hunt a total of 31 years in prison.
Hunt still faces a second-degree murder charge in Franklin County in connection with the death of 63-year-old Dale Ryerson. That trial is scheduled to begin November 17. Court records say Hunt caused Ryerson’s death in October 2024 by inflicting blunt force trauma to his head.
Ryerson’s remains were later discovered in his burning SUV in Washington County, the same day an Endangered Person Advisory was issued after investigators found signs of a violent assault at his home. Hunt was arrested the following day.
