Sheridan Man Sentenced for Second Degree Murder

A Sheridan man who killed his mother was sentenced to prison Tuesday in Fourth Judicial District Court. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

In December of 2025, Israel Melvin, pursuant to a plea agreement reached with the State, pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing his mother, 64-year-old Leonila Melvin at her home on Gladstone Street in Sheridan on January 7, 2024. The plea deal recommended a sentence of 22 to 40 years in prison. At sentencing Tuesday, Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Darci Phillips rejected the plea agreement and sentenced Melvin to 22 to 60 years in a facility to be determined by the Wyoming Department of Corrections. Melvin was given 780 days of credit for time served of presentence confinement. Melvin, since 2024, has been receiving treatment at the Wyoming State Hospital.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Leonila Melvin died from blunt force trauma to the head. The medical examiner concluded that a blunt object with sharp corners was used to inflict the trauma. She was found dead on the evening of January 7, 2024 when her husband Paul, came home from work and discovered her in the living room covered in gasoline soaked blankets.