Wyatt Dean Lamb Cheyenne Wyoming man charged with the murder of Athian Rivera, 2 year old toddler boy, son of ex girlfriend, Kassandra Orona.
A Wyoming man has been accused of murdering his girlfriend’s 2-year-old boy and dumping his body in a dumpster after allegedly setting fire to the child with a blowtorch, according to prosecutors.
A release from the Laramie County District Attorney‘s office on Monday afternoon identified, Wyatt Dean Lamb, as a suspect in the death of 2-year-old Athian Rivera, whose body was found Feb. 19 at a Cheyenne dumpster, shortly after the toddler was reported missing.
In addition to murder, Lamb who was already in custody, also faces 10 counts of child abuse according to the filed affidavit.
The boyfriend was described as being held at Laramie County jail since March 4, after an appearance in Laramie County District Court on prior domestic violence charges, the Casper Star Tribune reports.
According to the affidavit, Athian’s mother, Kassandra Orona, who was living with Lamb, despite ongoing episodes of domestic violence, reported her son missing at about 1 p.m. on Feb. 19. After a frenzied search, the two year old’s body was found inside a dumpster at the apartment complex where Orona lived with her children. His body was still warm, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.
Ongoing family dysfunction
An autopsy report via the Laramie County medical examiner described the 2-year-old incurring, ‘scattered blunt force injuries over much of the body.’
Athian’s body was covered with contusions and abrasions. He had burn marks throughout his genital area and upper legs that investigators say were consistent with a blowtorch found in the couple’s apartment. The boy’s cause of death was listed as a cerebral edema with herniation, caused either by blunt force trauma so severe it caused brain swelling, or restricted oxygen. Or both.
Lamb, who was the one to first report the boy missing to Orona, was described as acting ‘odd’ while several people frantically searched for the boy around the building, according to the affidavit. One witness told investigators he did not appear ‘worried or flustered’ by the boy being gone.
Posted the mother, Kassandra Orona, on social media: ‘I’ll never stop hating myself for leaving him with someone who did such horrific things, but seeing these lies spread like I don’t care for my children is more hurtful than anything.’
In February 2020, Lamb was charged with felony strangulation of Athian’s mother. He was also charged with misdemeanor property destruction and interfering with a peace officer.
During a March 4 hearing, the Laramie County District Attorney’s office argued Lamb should be held without bond because he is ‘the sole identified suspect in an aggravated child abuse and homicide investigation.’
Lamb who currently remains held on a $1 million bond, faces a possible death sentence if convicted of murder.