State Files Continuance in 19-Year-Old Cheyenne Man's Murder Case

A preliminary hearing for a 19-year-old Cheyenne man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his significant other has been continued.

Charles Rees Karn was scheduled to appear in Laramie County Circuit Court this morning, June 23, but the state filed a motion to continue and the case has been reset for July 7 at 10 a.m.

According to Cheyenne Police Department spokeswoman Alex Farkas, officers were dispatched to a 911 hang-up call at a camper near the 4700 block of Cactus Way at about 12:19 a.m. on Thursday, June 15.

Officers arrived to find Karn's significant other, 19-year-old Cheyenne woman Phoenix Cerenil, unresponsive with apparent signs of strangulation.

According to a booking sheet, police determined that Karn had pushed Cerenil causing her to strike her head on a table near the bed and lose consciousness.

Cerenil was taken by ambulance to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where she died two days later.

Karn was arrested and initially charged with aggravated assault, strangulation of a household member, and domestic battery, but the Laramie County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday, June 20, amended those charges to include first-degree murder.

Karn is currently being held in the Laramie County Detention Center on a $250,000 cash bond.

If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.

For more information about this case, check out our earlier posts:

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Source: State Files Continuance in 19-Year-Old Cheyenne Man’s Murder Case