This photo provided by San Miguel County Sheriff's Office shows Ashford Nathaniel Archer. Archer, convicted in the deaths of two girls whose bodies were found on a southwestern Colorado farm has been sentenced to 24 years in prison. The Cortez Journal reported Thursday, June 13, 2019 that Archer was found guilty earlier this year of two counts of fatal child abuse and being an accessory to a crime for the deaths of 10-year-old Makayla Roberts and 8-year-old Hannah Marshall. The bodies of the young sisters were found in a car parked on farm near Norwood in September 2017. They died of heat, dehydration and starvation. ( San Miguel County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Man sentenced in deaths of 2 girls found on Colorado farm

By The Associated Press June 14, 2019 at 10:39am

CORTEZ, Colo. (AP) — A man was sentenced to 24 years in prison in the 2017 deaths of two sisters who were banished to a car without food or water by members of a doomsday religious group because the girls were thought to have been impure.

Ashford Archer was found guilty in March of two counts of fatal child abuse and being an accessory to a crime for the deaths of 10-year-old Makayla Roberts and 8-year-old Hannah Marshall, The Cortez Journal reported Thursday. Archer was sentenced June 4 by District Judge Keri A. Yoder to 24 years in prison on the child abuse counts and six years on the accessory count, with the sentences running concurrently.

The bodies of the sisters were found in a car parked on a San Miguel County farm near Norwood in southwest Colorado in September 2017. Authorities said they died of heat, dehydration and starvation.

Archer was a member of a religious group that moved to the property earlier that year, according to court documents.

Investigators say they believe the group’s spiritual leader, Madani Ceus, declared the two girls were possessed by unclean spirits during a past life and ordered the girls kept in a car without food or water for days as the others waited for the apocalypse in advance of the 2017 solar eclipse.

Ceus and the girl’s mother, Nashika Bramble, were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse resulting in death. They have pleaded not guilty.

Bramble’s trial is scheduled for July 8 in Montrose, while Ceus’ trial date is pending, said Sherry McKenzie, spokeswoman for District Attorney Dan Hotsenpiller.

___

Information from: Cortez Journal, http://www.cortezjournal.com/

The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

Submit a Correction →

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:

WJ Wire

The Associated Press

SummaryMore Biographical InformationRecent PostsContact

The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter

@AP

Facebook

The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.

Location

New York City