Watch CBS News

Ashford Archer Sentenced In Deaths Of 2 Girls Found On Colorado Farm

CORTEZ, Colo. (AP) - A man 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 that Ashford 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.

Ashford Archer from San Miguel Co SO
Ashford Archer (credit: San Miguel County Sheriff's Office)

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.

Norwood Double Homicide 4 (both children, from San Miguel Sheriff tweet)
Makayla Victoria Roberts, 10, and Hannah Elizabeth Rosalina Marshall, 8. (credit: San Miguel County Sheriff's Office)

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

Prosecutors said the girls were banished to a car. Other group members also have been charged.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.