Bond Set at $1M for Cheyenne Man Charged With Killing 2-Year-Old
The man accused of killing a 2-year-old Cheyenne boy whose body was found in a dumpster made his initial appearance Tuesday in Laramie County Circuit Court.
Wyatt Dean Lamb, 27, is charged with 10 counts of child abuse and one count of first-degree murder in the death of Athian Rivera, his now ex-girlfriend Kassandra Orona's son.
Police say they were called to Orona's apartment shortly after 1 p.m. on Feb. 19 after she reported that Rivera was missing.
The toddler's "still warm" body was found wrapped inside five trash bags -- later found to have Lamb's fingerprints on them -- in a nearby dumpster about two hours later, according to an affidavit.
Lamb, who had reportedly been living with Orona and her three children since August of 2020 in violation of his bond in a February 2020 strangulation case involving Orona, was arrested later that day on unrelated warrants.
Police four days later announced they had forwarded an affidavit of probable cause to District Attorney Leigh Anne Grant Manlove supporting additional charges of aggravated child abuse and murder.
On March 4, District Court Judge Catherine Rogers ordered Lamb be held without bond pending trial and bond revocation evidentiary proceedings in the strangulation case, essentially giving Manlove until July 19 to wait for autopsy results to come back on Rivera before filing charges in the case.
An autopsy report signed May 6 concluded that Rivera "died of cerebral edema with herniation due to blunt force trauma or hypoxic brain injury, or a combination of both."
There were also "patterned burn injuries to his groin with features consistent with infliction by the torch found at the scene," according to the report.
Manlove announced yesterday, June 28, that she had finally filed charges against Lamb, and commended the Cheyenne Police Department, the Laramie County Coroner and the Wyoming State Crime Lab for their collective efforts in the case.
Lamb's bond has been set at $1 million, and his preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 6 at 9 a.m. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.