An Oklahoma woman, Ashlie Nicole Rose Martin, has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for conspiring to murder her parents with the help of two accomplices. Martin, now 22, was convicted after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in Indian Country. Her co-conspirators, 23-year-old Chad Jon’Dale Voyles and 19-year-old Bryson Noel Miller, received sentences of 35 years and 25 years, respectively, after pleading guilty to murder.
The tragic double homicide occurred just days before Christmas in 2020. Martin, then 17, orchestrated the killing of her parents, 60-year-old Curtis Lee Martin and 47-year-old Sherrie Pyron, with Voyles and Miller. The trio, all teenagers at the time, were involved in a violent plot that would eventually result in the deaths of Martin’s parents.
According to a federal indictment, Martin had recruited Voyles and Miller to help her “get rid” of her parents. In a text message sent on December 22, 2020, Martin told her accomplices, “I’m just getting rid of them, and then everything will be okay. Cause after they’re gone, I’m free for good.”
The plot escalated when Martin instructed Voyles to “kill my mother, then take out my father, then get what u need, take one at a time, put into the whole [sic] then the next one.” That night, Martin allowed Miller and Voyles into her home through a window, according to an affidavit obtained by local CBS affiliate KXII.
They found her mother, Sherrie, sleeping on a couch and brutally beat her to death. Voyles also slit Sherrie’s throat when he heard her “gurgling,” according to a prosecution memo. After the murder, the three buried Sherrie’s body in a shallow grave in the backyard. The following morning, Martin cooked eggs and bacon for her accomplices as they cleaned up the crime scene.
On December 23, Martin attempted to arrange her escape while Voyles and Miller awaited her father’s return. Upon his arrival, Voyles ambushed Curtis with a bow and arrow but missed. A struggle ensued, and Miller intervened, striking Curtis with a dumbbell. They finished the murder by dousing Curtis with gasoline and setting him and the house on fire.
Martin had been in a relationship with Miller at the time, and the couple believed she was pregnant, though a pregnancy test later proved otherwise. The murder plot was allegedly fueled by Martin’s claim that her father had sexually abused her for years, a claim her defense attorney supported in court.
The attorney also stated that the system had failed to protect Martin from the abuse. While Miller and Voyles both apologized in court for their roles in the murders, Martin’s aunt expressed continued love for her.
In response to the sentencing, FBI Oklahoma City Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Ogden stated, “The ruthless violence displayed by all three defendants in this case undoubtedly proves they belong behind prison walls.” U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson added, “The defendants’ actions were brutal and horrifying… the sentences imposed remove three very dangerous people from our community for a very long time.”