MANHATTAN — A Texas woman arrested last month in connection to a 2017 killing of a Junction City woman is now in custody in Riley County.
Samantha Bland, 29, of Laredo, Texas was arrested Feb. 19 on a warrant for aggravated intimidation of a witness. Bland’s brother 32-year-old Steven Meredith is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 48-year-old Carrie Jones in October 2017. Her body was found by deer hunters in southern Riley County.
Bland is accused of intimidating witnesses who testified against Meredith in his preliminary hearing in mid-January. At that hearing, witnesses testified that Meredith believed Jones might reveal information about him and others in a 2013 drug-related case. If convicted, Meredith could face up to life in prison on the first-degree murder charge.
Meredith is set to stand trial in July. Bland remains jailed in Riley County on a $125,000 bond.
