By Sarah Elmquist Squires
Managing Editor
A second defendant accused of playing a role in the violent murder of Ashley Dewey in Riverton last summer has taken an Alford plea. Kasia Monroe, 32, changed her plea last week in Fremont County District Court. An Alford plea works as a guilty plea, when a defendant admits prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them of the crime.
Monroe took the Alford plea to a charge of accessory before the fact of manslaughter, according to Fremont County Attorney Patrick Lebrun. Her next court appearance is tentatively set for September 29; she will face 15-20 years in prison.
Co-defendant Chastity Washington also offered an Alford plea earlier this year to a charge of accessory to second-degree murder and faces 25-43 years in prison.
According to the affidavit in the case, Riverton police responded to a trailer on fire on North Seventh Street East on August 24, 2022, where they found Dewey in the bathtub underneath a burning tire. Police attempted to revive her, but found she’d been beaten and stabbed.
Monroe told police she saw Washington stab Dewey and kick her in the face; Washington admitted to lighting two tires on fire inside the trailer, according to court documents.