Suspect in Wyoming homicide arrested in Hot Springs
A 29-year-old Tennessee woman wanted as an accessory in the murder of a Royal man who was thrown off a freight train in Wyoming last week was arrested by Hot Springs police on Thursday.
Ashley Nicole Chandler, 29, whose address was listed as “city streets” in Cookeville, Tenn., was arrested by Hot Springs police detectives and booked into the Garland County Detention Center shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday. She remained in custody Friday on zero bond with a hold on her out of Sweetwater County, Wyo.
A hearing on Chandler’s extradition to Wyoming is set for Sept. 5 in Garland County Circuit Court.
The man’s body was located by Union Pacific railroad personnel at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. The victim, later identified as Eric Barrett, 26, of Royal, was described as “a transient” in a news release issued Friday by Sweetwater County Sheriff Mike Lowell.
Barrett had suffered fatal trauma as a result of a fall from a train, Lowell said.
At around 7 a.m. Aug. 19, Dennis Morley, 38, of Hood River, Ore., and Chandler, who then listed a Lawrenceburg, Tenn., address, were contacted near Diamondville by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office after they were reportedly trespassing on railroad property, the release said.
An investigation determined Morley and Chandler were traveling with
Barrett at the time he fell from the train. On Monday, the two were located again in Salt Lake City by Utah Transit Authority Police following up on information from Sweetwater County detectives.
When questioned, Chandler and Morley allegedly admitted to traveling with Barrett, but claimed they both fell asleep on the train and Barrett was gone when they woke up.
According to the Sweetwater NOW News in Rock Springs, Wyo., investigators developed additional information on Thursday after Morley contacted law enforcement in Denton County, Texas, and Chandler contacted Hot Springs police.
Morley and Chandler both allegedly admitted Morley pushed Barrett from the train as it was traveling during an altercation between the two men, the newspaper reported. Chandler later allegedly discarded evidence linking her and Morley to Barrett before they were picked up by the Lincoln County deputies.
Morley was taken into custody in Denton County on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, while Chandler has been charged with accessory after the fact. Formal charges were filed against both Friday in Rock Springs Circuit Court, the release said.
If convicted, Morley faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and Chandler faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of $3,000, the Sweetwater NOW News reported.
Lowell said he credits excellent cooperation between the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Union Pacific Railroad Police, Utah Transit Authority Police Department, Hot Springs Police Department, and the Denton County Sheriff’s Office for the successful resolution to the investigation.