A Big Piney man pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to commit second-degree murder in the Feb. 2 bow-and-arrow ambush death of his friend and video game companion Dakota Farley.
Orion Schlesinger spoke softly and called Sublette County District Court Judge Kate McKay “ma’am” and “your honor” during his Thursday change-of-plea hearing.
Court documents say that Schlesinger and his friend Rowan Littauer walked more than a mile in the frigid night of Feb. 1-2 to Farley’s Big Piney home — and that Littauer shot Farley twice with a compound bow and arrow, killing him.
What the evidentiary affidavit doesn’t say, and Sublette County Attorney Clayton Melinkovich related in court Thursday, is that Littauer captured a selfie photograph of himself and Schlesinger as they walked away from Farley’s home after the shooting.
“And … that picture depicts Orion Schlesinger with a toothy grin on his face,” Melinkovich said.
That assertion was among other evidence that Melinkovich furnished in court from the findings of the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office investigations.
McKay double-checked with Schlesinger that he understood that by pleading guilty, he accepts a plea agreement in which both the defense attorney and the prosecutor will ask for a sentence of between 54 years and life in prison.
Conspiracy to commit second-degree murder is punishable by between 20 years and life in prison under state law, so Schlesinger’s agreement, if McKay accepts it, would confine the judge to a tighter and harsher window than the state Legislature has determined.
“And is that the agreement that you have made?” asked McKay.
“Yes ma’am,” answered Schlesinger, in a murmur.
“Did you sign that plea agreement?” the judge asked.
“Yes, your honor.”
“And did you read it before you signed it?” McKay asked.
“Yes, your honor,” answered Schlesinger.
His sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 18, though it’s a tentative setting since McKay pondered aloud whether an unrelated civil trial set for that week would happen as scheduled.
The Confession, Secondhand
Rather than having Schlesinger furnish a confession in court as is common with guilty pleas, Melinkovich agreed to give a factual basis underpinning the man’s guilty plea.
Schlesinger and Farley were friends who played video games together and took at least one trip to Rock Springs together, said the prosecutor.
At some point, Littauer in a text message to a friend characterized Farley as a “pedophile,” according to earlier court testimony that Melinkovich did not reiterate Thursday.
Sublette County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. Travis Lanning in a March hearing testified that as far as he knew, Farley hadn’t targeted any children, but that Schlesinger’s girlfriend — a minor female — told investigators that Farley had “creeped her out” though he didn’t touch her.
On the night of Feb. 1, Melinkovich said in court Thursday, Schlesinger woke up his girlfriend and told her he was going to Littauer’s home, and that together they would go to Farley’s house to kill him.
Melinkovich told McKay that he believes he could have proven the first-degree conspiracy murder charge of which Schlesinger was accused before he secured a charge reduction with his plea agreement.
First-degree murder requires a finding of premeditation.
But the court could infer from the evidence of violence in this case that Schlesinger acted with “malice,” which is a crime feature upon which the second-degree charge now in play hinges, Melinkovich said.
The Walk
The two men walked more than a mile in the night with temperatures around 32 degrees and winds blowing at about 20 mph, Melinkovich said.
They entered Farley’s home. Littauer shot the man with an arrow, killing him almost instantaneously, the prosecutor related from the coroner’s investigation and autopsy report.
The arrow went through Farley’s arm, through his aorta and into his trachea, killing him, according to Lanning’s March testimony.
Littauer shot another time, Melinkovich added Thursday. Then he riddled Farley’s scalp with BBs from a BB gun, and Schlesinger was present for that, said the prosecutor.
Schlesinger took a gun from Farley’s home and gave it to another person for safekeeping, Melinkovich said.
In Wyoming, stealing a gun is a felony even if the gun falls below the usual threshold value for felony theft of $1,000.
In Schlesinger’s case, his plea agreement accepts an 8-10 year sentence for stealing the gun, but that’s to run simultaneously with his 54-to-life sentence, essentially drowning it out.
McKay noted, however, that if she rejects this plea agreement Schlesinger can withdraw his guilty plea and either reenter negotiations or proceed to trial.
Littauer’s first-degree murder case is also ongoing. He has entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental illness.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
