A man and a woman from Manhattan were sentenced Monday to 28 years in federal prison for taking part in the kidnapping of a Junction City woman who was killed during the abduction, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Larry L. Anderson, 28, Manhattan, Kan. pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping resulting in death. His girlfriend,Marryssa M. Middleton, 26, Fort Riley, Kan. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death.
The body of Amanda Clemons, 24, of Junction City, was found in February 2014 in Geary County, Kan. In their pleas, Anderson and Middleton admitted that on Feb. 7, 2014, they and co-defendants met the victim, who was a prostitute, at a hotel in Junction City and kidnapped her. The defendants beat the victim in retribution for comments the victim had made on social media about having a sexual relationship with Anderson. During the beating, the defendants demanded the victim pay $300. They took the victim to another hotel room in an unsuccessful attempt to get the money, after which they transported the victim to a residence on Fort Riley.
While there, the defendants allowed the victim to call her mother. The victim’s mother realized the victim was in danger and called Junction City Police. When police called the victim’s number to check on her, and the defendants listened to the call on speaker phone. Fearing arrest, the defendants transported the victim to a bridge in a remote part of Geary County, where they resumed the beating and attacked her with a knife. The victim broke free and jumped off the bridge, falling 15 feet and breaking her ankle. Some of the defendants found the victim in the snow and resumed the assault during which they cut her throat and killed her.
Co-defendants include:
Drexel Woody, 26, who lived on Fort Riley at the time of the crime, is set for sentencing June 26.
Shantrell D. Woody, 27, Fort Riley, Kan., formerly an active duty service member, is set for sentencing May 30.
Christopher Pugh, 33, Junction City, Kan., is set for sentencing June 26.
Beall commended the Junction City Police Department, the Grandview Plaza Police Department, the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, the Riley County Police Department, the Fort Riley Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Geary County Attorney Steven Opat for their work on the case.
