The Murder of Henry Stange
For this case, I watched an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn. It’s season 23 episode 3, titled ‘Circled By Vultures.’
A body is found in the Joshua Tree National Forest.
Background
Henry Stange was a 54-year-old man from Murrieta, California. At the time of his death, he had been going through a divorce from his wife of 10 years. They had two young sons together, but were estranged.
Henry had been an avid outdoorsman, until a motorcycle accident left him unable to walk without assistance. Henry was also very gifted with electronics, and found a passion in the ham radio community.
Henry was also described as helpful, and always willing to lend a hand.
Henry Stange
The Body in the Desert
On June 1, 2018, a hiker was walking in the Joshua Tree National Forest, when he spotted vultures circling around one specific area. The hiker believed the vultures had found the body of a dead animal.
He took photos, and showed them to his wife the next day. However, his wife believed that it was something more sinister, so they contacted the Joshua Tree National Forest.
The vultures were still there when the rangers arrived, as well as a coyote. The rangers noticed disturbed ground. In a shallow grave, was the bottom half of a human body.
It was clear to the rangers that the body had been buried there for about 2 weeks. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office was called in.
Identifying the Victim
When the police arrived, they realized they were looking at the body of a middle aged white male. He had been buried in what was described as a 2x2 shallow grave. The upper torso had been buried, but the lower half hadn’t been buried well.
It clear to the police that the victim had been killed elsewhere. There was no evidence in the desert. The killer had been inexperienced, and had panicked when burying the victim.
The body was taken in for an autopsy. The medical examiner could tell that there were multiple skull fractures due to blunt force trauma. The cause of death was ruled as homicidal violence.
The medical examiner was able to obtain a fingerprint sample. The prints led to identifying the victim as 54-year-old, Henry Stange.
The Crime Scene
The police went to Henry’s home. There was no one home, as Henry had been living alone. The doors were locked, but the police were able to force the front door open.
When the police walked into the garage, they found a large pool of blood. The Murrieta police department was then called in to take over the case.
The crime scene told the police that there had been a brutal fight. Henry had been hit, leading to him falling down, and had been attacked again as he laid on the garage floor.
The police collected blood samples, but there were no unidentified fingerprints or shoe impressions found at the scene. The police did know that the killer had tried to clean up the scene. There had been a heavy smell of bleach, and they removed surveillance that Henry had hung up in the garage.
A Dangerous Hobby
The police learned about Henry’s divorce by speaking to his mom, and two sisters. However, it was soon apparent that his ex-wife had not been involved. She was able to tell the police that Henry had stopped using his utilities on May 24.
The police also learned about Henry’s ham radio hobby. He had been on the airwaves everyday for a year until May 24, which is believed to have been the day that he died.
Henry had a very controversial way of speaking on the radio. He told his family that he had been attacked in January, and that he thought it had been members of the ham radio community. Henry put up the surveillance cameras after that attack.
There were two brothers from the community that were looked into. They had said a lot of bad things about Henry online, and even threatened him. However, they were ruled out.
The Younger Girlfriend
The police also learned from Henry’s ex-wife and family, that he had a new love interest. Henry’s family hadn’t met her, and thought that Henry was moving way too fast.
The young woman’s name was Ashlie Stapp. Ashlie was 27 -years-old, and had once been addicted to prescription drugs.
The police knew that Henry had been prescribed Oxycontin due to his motorcycle accident. They wondered if Ashlie had become involved with Henry after learning this. She was known to hangout with people who supplied her drugs.
Henry’s neighbors knew of Ashlie as well. They saw her often, and said that they would waive hello to her. They also described her blue Honda with damage to the front end. The neighbors told the police that Ashlie had driven by Henry’s home on the day that the police started their investigation. She had driven by, but failed to reach out to Henry’s family or police about what had happened.
The Love Triangle
The police soon learned that Ashlie was already involved in a serious relationship with a man named Curtis Krueger, a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.
The police obtained phone records from May 24, for Ashlie and Curtis. It placed them at Henry’s house on the day he died.
The police had no physical evidence, but they decided to wiretap their phones. They also came up with a ruse. Ashlie had a brother that lived across from the police station. They went to his home, and asked if he knew the people in a photo (the photo was of his sister with Henry). Ashlie’s brother identified his sister, but didn’t know who the man was.
He said he was going to send Ashlie a picture of the photo, and asked if she could identify someone they were looking into. Within 30 minutes, Ashlie called her brother, and said she didn’t know about the picture or about any crime.
After she hung up with her brother, Ashlie called Curtis. On the phone, the two incriminated the shit out of themselves. They spoke about loading Henry’s body into Curtis’ truck, about if any of Henry’s neighbors had seen them, or if anyone had seen them burying Henry in the desert.
The couple was arrested.
A Deal With the Devil
When Ashlie was brought into the police station, she denied being involved. However, the police confronted her, and said they had her basically admitting to it on the phone.
Ashlie soon changed her story. She said she saw Henry’s body in the truck. She withheld Curtis’ name to the police, but they had already known who else was involved.
Ashlie said Curtis was controlling, and monitored her every move by looking at her GPS. Ashlie said Curtis found out about Ashlie and Henry, and was jealous.
Ashlie said that it was Curtis’ idea to cover up the crime. They rolled Henry into a blanket, put him in the truck, and drove him out to Joshua Tree National Forest.
Curtis was questioned, but he lawyered up. The police presented their case to the DA. However, the DA told them that they didn’t have enough physical evidence. Curtis was released, but rearrested in December 2018, and held in a military establishment.
Curtis’ cousin contacted police, and told them that Curtis had tried to kill Henry before in January 2018. The cousin’s story lined up with what Henry had told his family. Ashlie also knew about the previous attack, and told the police where they could find the bent hammer that Curtis thought he had killed Henry with the first time.
The police decided to make a deal with Ashlie. Ashlie pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact. She was sentenced to 10 months in custody, 3 years probation, and to a drug rehab program.
Justice For Henry
Curtis Krueger was charged with second degree murder.
His trial began in August 2020. Curtis was portrayed as a very jealous individual. Curtis testified, and denied being jealous, but the prosecution had pages of records that said otherwise. He also said that he went to Henry’s because he thought Ashlie was being raped by Henry.
Curtis was found guilty of second degree murder, and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.
Henry’s family is devastated by Ashlie’s deal. They believe she used Henry, and that it led to his death.
Ashlie Stapp
Other
In 2019, Ashlie was arrested again for violating parole, after leaving her treatment program early. She has since been released again.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My heart breaks for Henry’s family. Henry was used and manipulated by Ashlie. Henry thought that he had found love again, but Ashlie claimed she used Henry because he supplied her with drugs. Ashlie was obviously an addict, but that’s no excuse to take someone’s life.
Curtis is obviously a monster. It’s a shame that he was able to serve for our country. He’s a disgrace, and deserves to rot in prison forever.
Sources
https://patch.com/california/murrieta/murrieta-murder-ex-marine-corp-officer-sentenced
https://hidesertstar.com/news/178127/defendant-found-guilty-of-murdering-man-buried-in-jtnp/
http://z1077fm.com/former-twentynine-palms-marine-convicted-of-murder-of-murrieta-man/
https://thecinemaholic.com/henry-stange-murder-where-are-ashlie-stapp-and-curtis-krueger-now/
