Much has been made about the very recent first-degree murder conviction of Troy Willoughby for the 1984 shooting death of Lisa Ehlers.

Some news reports announced it as Sublette County’s first murder conviction since 1912.

But that’s not accurate. In fact, Sublette County didn’t even exist in 1912. Back then it was part of Fremont County.



Prior convictions

The county has an illustrious history of murder with several murder convictions.

According to the Nov. 23, 1994, edition of the Pinedale Roundup, a Sublette County jury convicted James Kerns, 25, of Casper, of premeditated murder during the commission of a robbery. Kerns was accused of beating and fatally stabbing Jose Henriquez, 26, of El Salvador, in the Middle Piney area on Aug. 22, 1993.

And in 1988, a Sublette County jury convicted Charles Smith, 38, of second-degree murder in the 1987 death of William Duplantis. According to a

Jan. 14, 1988, Pinedale Roundup article, “Duplantis was found dead face-down in Faler Creek near Daniel May 6, 1987. He was bound, stabbed in the back and shot twice in the head with a large caliber pistol loaded with bird shot.”



Violent past

Between 1992 and 1986, there were at least four murders charged but none of these resulted in a jury conviction.

In 1992, Kenneth Nicodemus pleaded guilty to escape the death penalty for the shooting deaths of Gary and Sue Weiss, owners of the Ponderosa Lodge on Half Moon Lake and his former employers. Nicodemus admitted murdering the couple during a robbery attempt at the lodge. He was given two life sentences in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

Five years earlier in 1987, Randy Gleason was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to three to five years in connection with the shooting death of Michael Phillips who died from a gunshot wound following an argument while the two men where hunting near McDougal Gap.

In 1986, Daniel Crisp, 26, of Robbinsville, N.C., pleaded to a suspended sentence and five years probation for the June 1, 1985, stabbing death of Kevin Duffy, 28, of Spokane, Wash. According to the Pinedale Roundup, the two men

argued outside the Wheel-in Disco in Big Piney. After the pair were separated by friends, the men returned to an Exxon man camp where Duffy was stabbed seven times in a utility room.



Armed and dangerous

But to find the first murder conviction, as discovered by Judi Myers – who indexed 95 years of the Pinedale Roundup – a history buff must go back to 1934, only 13 years after Sublette County was

organized.

That’s when a Sublette County jury found John Parkel guilty of “first-degree murder without capital punishment” after deliberating for three hours.

Parkel was charged with the shooting death of Matt O’Blak at O’Blak’s hunting camp near Pinion Ridge.

According to the Pinedale Roundup, the two men were in a “business partnership” for a short time. When the partnership dissolved, O’Blak offered to buy out Parkel’s share.

The article reported, “When Parkel questioned O’Blak as to payment of the same, a controversy ensued, resulting in the shooting.”

Parkel maintained that he shot at O’Blak’s hand while backing out of the cabin after O’Blak reached for a rifle on the wall. Then when O’Blak emerged from the cabin with a rifle in hand, Parkel fired the fatal shot.

After the incident, Parkel returned to Pinedale and turned himself in.

Parkel’s defense attorney claimed he was only firing in self-defense but prosecutors alleged Parkel went to the cabin to settle a score.



For the complete article see the 02-09-2010 issue.

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