Dexter man sentenced to prison and treatment for fatal Black River boat crash

A Dexter man was taken into custody Monday morning after he was sentenced to prison for recklessly causing the death of a local teenager who was killed in a June 2018 boat collision on Black River.

Accompanied by his attorney, Dan Moore, Braden Parker Bollinger appeared before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett for sentencing after having pleaded guilty Aug. 13, to the Class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

“The judge sentenced him to the 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, with the 120-day institutional treatment,” said Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor.

That sentence and treatment recommendation were agreed upon by the state and Bollinger’s attorney, with the support of Cali Murphy’s mother.

On June 3, 2018, Bollinger “recklessly caused the death of Cali Murphy by operating his boat at a dangerous speed while under the influence of intoxicants and running his boat into a boat in which Cali Murphy was a passenger.”

The 16-year-old’s father, Kirk Murphy, 35, and Shannon Sisson, 32, both of Poplar Bluff, also suffered serious physical injuries in the crash.

Also injured were Matthew Rushin, 33, of Poplar Bluff and Brady Smyth, 50, of Dexter.

At the time of Bollinger’s plea, the teen’s mother, Jessica Jennings, addressed the court.

Jennings said she believed her daughter’s wishes would not be to punish Bollinger, but to make him see the error of his ways.

Cali Murphy, she said, was a strong person, and someone who wanted to see the best in people.

The sentence, Jennings said, will allow Bollinger to move “forward to do better things in his life.”

Prison officials, Pritchett told Bollinger at the time of his plea, will prepare a report for him to review, which will detail whether Bollinger is “doing good, making progress” and whether they recommend his release on probation after 120 days.

“If that’s their recommendation, that’s what I’ll do,” Pritchett said.

Proctor said Jennings and Murphy’s grandparents, as well as Matthew Rushin’s sister, were present for Bollinger’s sentencing, but chose not to address the court.