he 66-year-old, seen in court on Friday, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. District Attorney Sherry Caloia estimated that it will likely be a life sentence for him due to his dwindling health.
The murder case of a Colorado socialite whose body was found stashed in her resort-home’s closet in February has come to an abrupt halt after a surprise plea deal Friday.
William (Trey) Styler III, 66, who had been renting out Nancy Pfister’s Buttermilk Ski Area home with his wife, pleaded guilty to killing the prominent Aspen native with a hammer, The Aspen Times reported.
The former Denver anesthesiologist’s shocking plea-deal admission before a judge followed the release of his wife, Nancy Styler, and came the same day as the release of Pfister’s friend and personal assistant, Kathy Carpenter.
Both women, who had been charged with first-degree murder in Pfister’s gruesome death, had their charges dismissed.
William Styler instead admitted to having acted alone when he bashed the 57-year-old in the head while she slept on the night of Feb. 24, according to Assistant District Attorney Scott Turner.His victim, whose parents co-founded the Buttermilk ski area, had only recently returned from vacationing in Australia and days before vented frustration on Facebook that her renters’ weren’t paying rent.Defense attorneys argued that claim.
Pfister’s friend and personal assistant Kathy Carpenter, 56, pictured, was also released with first-degree murder charges dismissed against her.
Styler and his wife were collared days later at the Aspenalt Lodge in Basalt on March 3.
Carpenter, who was the one to find Pfister’s body and call 911, was arrested on March 14. Carpenter’s attorney, Greg Greer, said her arrest was based on a word investigators believed they heard her use when she made that call.
While declaring her as innocent all along, they voiced upset at the 56-year-old having been held in jail for 96 days without bail.
Former Denver anesthesiologist William (Trey) Styler III, 66, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Aspen native Nancy Pfister in February.
With his plea deal, William Styler was sentenced Friday to 20 years in a Department of Corrections prison with medical facilities.
Nancy Pfister, 57, was found dead inside her Colorado home just days after returning from a vacation in Australia. Pfister was a prominent local resident whose parents co-founded the Buttermilk ski area.
District Attorney Sherry Caloia suggested the sentence is most likely the equivalency of life for the 66-year-old due to rising health concerns that have since confined him to a wheelchair.
he 66-year-old, seen in court on Friday, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. District Attorney Sherry Caloia estimated that it will likely be a life sentence for him due to his dwindling health.
The victim’s family, who asked the judge for the maximum sentence of 32 years for second-degree murder, called his sentence an injustice.
“It upsets me. There are such things as an eye for an eye,” said Pfister’s daughter, Juliana Pfister, according to ABC.
