Overview
- Ashley Kline, 23, who had learning disabilities from childhood lead poisoning, left home on December 30, 2013 after agreeing to meet family acquaintance Ryan Schannauer for a supposed movie outing.
- Prosecutors said Schannauer and Adam Lynch took her to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, where she was raped, stabbed and set on fire.
- A post-mortem found soot in her lungs, and a prosecutor told the court Schannauer admitted dousing her with gasoline while she was still breathing.
- Evidence included Ashley’s broken necklace and the imprint of her pink Ugg boot in Lynch’s car, CCTV of a man matching Lynch buying fuel, and a girlfriend’s account of the pair returning on January 8 to try to burn the body again.
- Both men pleaded guilty under a deal that removed death-penalty exposure and are serving life without parole, with prosecutors alleging jealous resentment and months of planning as the motive.