Cheyenne man to serve life for Kimball Co. murder

A Cheyenne man accused of first degree murder in the death of a Colorado man whose body was found last year on a Bushnell farm after he was missing for six years will serve life in prison. 40 year old Vencil Ash III was found guilty July 2nd by a Kimball County district court jury after a week long trial.

Ash was charged in the death of 30 year old Ryan Guitron of Fort Collins, who went missing in October 2003. Court documents indicate the two men and Ash's girlfriend, 23 year old Kelly Meehan, went to the Kimball County farm eight-and-a-half years ago where Guitron was shot and killed, then buried under a woodpile. Meehan claims Ash shot Guitron because he was upset after discovering her undergarments among Guitron's possessions. Guitron's body was found in April 2010.

The Attorney General's office, which prosecuted the case, did not pursue the death penalty, so Ash will receive life in prison by state statute when he is sentenced August 21st by District Judge Derek Weimer.

Meehan, accused of hiding the weapon used by her boyfriend, is expected to enter a plea Thursday to accessory to a felony, a Class four felony that could get her up to five years in prison.

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