Colorado man jailed in Oklahoma accused of killing kid's mom
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Colorado man was charged with murder Thursday in the death of his year-old daughter's mother, a day after authorities in Oklahoma caught up to him and the girl, who had been reported missing and was recovered unharmed.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested Adam Densmore, 32, on Wednesday for violating a custody order, Shannon Cordingly, a Boulder, Colorado, police spokeswoman said Thursday. He had his daughter, Winter Mead, with him, and the girl was placed in state custody in Oklahoma, she said.
While in the Pawnee County jail, Densmore was served with a first-degree murder arrest warrant out of Boulder for the death of 25-year-old Ashley Mead, Cordingly said. She said a woman's body had been found about 40 miles away in a dumpster at a gas station outside a Wal-Mart in Okmulgee, which is about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City and nearly 600 miles from Boulder.
The body has not been identified, but Cordingly said the warrant was issued because authorities believe Ashley Mead is dead and the body was found near where her daughter and Densmore were discovered. Cordingly declined to say how Mead is believed to have been killed, but said the slaying is believed to have taken place in Boulder, where she said Densmore and Cordingly had an "on-again, off-again" relationship and were living together.
"At this point the arrest warrant is still sealed," Cordingly said. "It's not going to be unsealed until we have positively identified the body as that of Ashley."
The body was sent to the Oklahoma medical examiner's office for identification and to determine the cause of death, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the office.
"There are some factors involved that make it very, very difficult for us, so I don't know how long it's going to take," she said. She would not elaborate.
Jail records don't list an attorney who might be able to speak on Densmore's behalf.
Ashley Mead and her daughter were reported missing Tuesday when Mead did not show up for work. She was last seen in Boulder on Sunday.
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This story has been corrected to delete a reference to Densmore being charged with murder in Oklahoma. The warrant for the murder charge was issued from Boulder, Colorado.
