Sheridan Man Pleads Guilty to Second Degree Murder

A 24-year-old Sheridan man charged with second degree murder for killing his mother has changed his plea on the charge. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

At an arraignment hearing in Fourth Judicial District Court on November 7, 2024, Israel Melvin, via video conference from the Wyoming State Hospital, pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency to the charge of murder in the second degree for killing his mother, 64-year-old Leonila Melvin at her home on Gladstone Street in Sheridan on January 7, 2024. Melvin, at a recent hearing in District Court, changed his plea to guilty as part of a plea agreement reached with the State that recommends a sentence of not less than 22 and not more than 40 years in prison. If the Court at sentencing rejects the plea agreement, Melvin can withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial.

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. A presentence investigation report will be completed by the Wyoming Department of Corrections Division of Probation and Parole prior to Melvin’s sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for February 24 at 9 am in District Court.