Crime & Courts
News

Cleaning Up Crimes Scenes Takes A Strong Stomach And Stronger Mind
A Casper company does more than clean carpets and ducts. It's also called to crime scenes where it's never an easy task. It's a job that requires tact, empathy and special gear. “The trauma scenes are always the most difficult for people," the owner said.
Dale KillingbeckOctober 12, 2025

Body Discovered In Nebraska May Be Missing Moorcroft Man Chance Englebert
A body found Saturday near rural Gering, Nebraska, may be that of Moorcroft man Chance Englebert, who has been missing for more than six years, say his family and a private investigator working to solve the disappearance.
Jen KocherOctober 11, 2025

More Than 40 Years Later, Search Continues For Clues To Murder Of Buffalo Teen
In 1982, 18-year-old Naomi Kidder vanished while hitchhiking from Rawlins to Buffalo, Wyoming, and her body was found months later. Four decades later, police still seek answers in the unsolved murder and hope new leads will bring justice.
Jen KocherOctober 11, 2025

Self-Proclaimed Cartel Member Gets Life In Kidnapping, Torture Of Lander Woman
Self-proclaimed drug cartel member Adolfo Vargas Lepe filed an appeal this week after receiving a life sentence for kidnapping a Lander woman. He reportedly tortured her with power tools, shot her in both legs and trapped her in a dog kennel.
Clair McFarlandOctober 10, 2025

Teen Charged After 100 MPH Elk Crash Kills Friend Near Saratoga
The case of an 18-year-old Casper woman accused of hitting two bull elk while driving 100 mph on the highway, killing her friend, rose to the felony-level court this week. She faces up to 20.5 years in prison.
Clair McFarlandOctober 10, 2025

Cheyenne Man Arrested In Connection With Fatal Road Rage Encounter
A 21-year-old Cheyenne man was arrested Thursday in connection with a September deadly shooting in a King Soopers parking lot following a suspected road rage encounter. Mansoor Ali turned himself in and was booked on one count of second-degree murder.
Scott SchwebkeOctober 10, 2025

One Big Piney Teen In Bow And Arrow Killing Gets Plea Deal
One of the Big Piney teens accused in a February conspiracy to kill his 23-year-old friend with a bow and arrow has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence recommendation of between 54 years and life in prison.
Clair McFarlandOctober 09, 2025

Casper Man’s Attempt To Withdraw Child Porn Guilty Plea And Fire Attorney Fails
A 60-year-old Casper man who faced sentencing Thursday on child pornography and drug charges fired his attorney, got him back and then learned that his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea would not succeed.
Dale KillingbeckOctober 09, 2025

Wyoming Supreme Court Keeps School Choice Program Blocked
The Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the state’s bid to revive a new school-choice scholarship program that a lower court blocked temporarily in July. But the appeal continues, along with the debate over whether the program is constitutional.
Clair McFarlandOctober 09, 2025

Wyoming Highway Patrol Warns Motorists To Watch Out For Cows After Many Struck
Multiple cattle were struck by vehicles on Highway 14A, prompting Wyoming Highway Patrol to warn drivers to watch out for livestock. Drivers are advised to be alert as ranchers move cattle off mountains during colder months.
Scott SchwebkeOctober 09, 2025

F.E. Warren Airman Found Dead Wednesday In Latest Death Linked To Base
An active-duty airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne was found dead Wednesday morning. Authorities aren’t saying if a gun was involved. Local airmen have been involved in at least four prior incidents involving gunshots this year.
Clair McFarlandOctober 08, 2025

Campbell County to Pay $700K to Ousted Library Director in Settlement
Campbell County will pay former library director Terri Lesley $700,000 to settle her lawsuit alleging officials targeted her over LGBTQ-friendly books and events. Lesley will drop all claims, though the county denies wrongdoing.
Clair McFarlandOctober 08, 2025

DCI Hunting For Rare Tires Tied to 2003 Killing of Cheyenne Mother
Wyoming DCI is seeking rare Sport King A/T tires matching treads found near the 2003 murder scene of Cheyenne mother Shawny Lee Smith. Investigators hope locating the tires will help identify her killer after more than two decades.
Scott SchwebkeOctober 08, 2025

Police Say Shooting Involving FE Warren Air Force Airman Was Murder - Suicide
Fort Collins police say a Sept. 30 shooting that killed two — one tied to F.E. Warren Air Force Base — was a murder-suicide fueled by domestic violence.
Clair McFarlandOctober 08, 2025

Rock Springs Man Pleads No Contest To Gouging Caretaker's Eye With Pliers
Robert Downum, 58, admitted no contest on Tuesday to aggravated assault after reports that he gouged out his elderly landlord's eye with pliers. Prosecutors are seeking 6-8 years in prison.
Clair McFarlandOctober 07, 2025

Sweetwater County Is Short $50K For Jury Trials After Flurry Of Cases
Sweetwater County commissioners on Tuesday approved an additional $50,000 for juries and trials after an unexpected rush of trials drained the district's operating budget. Trials typically are not as common as settlements in both criminal and civil court.
Jackson WalkerOctober 07, 2025

Casper 19-Year-Old Pleads Guilty To Fatal Shooting Of 16-Year-Old Friend
A 19-year-old Casper man accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the February shooting of his 16-year-old friend as they played video games, smoked marijuana and mishandled their handguns.
Dale KillingbeckOctober 07, 2025

Family Of Man Who Killed Sheridan Cop Sues Law Enforcement
The family of the man who shot a Sheridan Police Department sergeant last year is suing law enforcement, saying that police should not have destroyed a home and fatally shot the man after the incident.
Clair McFarlandOctober 07, 2025

Someone Set State Law Book On Fire, Threw It From A Cadillac At Carbon County Courthouse
Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken on Monday shared a video of someone throwing burning pages of Wyoming's statutes from a moving car's window at the courthouse. Investigators say they have a "pretty good idea" who did it, and that the person borrowed his or her mom's car.
Clair McFarlandOctober 06, 2025

Popular Casper Walmart Cashier Loses House, Pets In Fire
A Casper woman and popular cashier at Walmart is recovering from 2nd and 3rd-degree burns in a Denver Hospital following a fire that destroyed her house and all of her family's possessions. Her husband and son escaped the fire with just the clothes on their backs.
Dale KillingbeckOctober 06, 2025

‘Rot in Hell,’ Victim’s Mother Tells Man Sentenced for Crimes Tied to 2019 Killing
Joseph Underwood was sentenced Monday to 14.5 years for a slew of crimes related to the death of a Cheyenne woman in 2019. The murder case was dropped in 2022 due to his mental state. “Why couldn’t you kill yourself?” wailed the woman’s mother in court.
Clair McFarlandOctober 06, 2025
Two Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide At Casper Home
The Casper Police Department confirmed Saturday that the two people rushed to a hospital with gunshot wounds Friday evening have died. A caller to 911 reported that “a woman’s former boyfriend had shot her mother,” and then himself, the CPD reports.
Dale KillingbeckOctober 05, 2025
Two Rushed To Hospital After Casper Shooting
The Casper Police Department is investigating a Friday evening shooting that sent two people to the hospital. Police say there is no danger to the public and no suspect at large.
Dale KillingbeckOctober 04, 2025

In ‘Extremely Rare’ Child Porn Case, Rock Springs Woman Gets 3-5 Years
A Rock Springs woman was sentenced to three to five years in prison for possessing child pornography, says an order filed Thursday. It is "extremely rare" to see female defendants in such cases, investigators say.
Clair McFarlandOctober 03, 2025