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Helena man sentenced to life in prison for murdering his parents

Posted at 7:17 PM, Mar 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-15 21:17:12-04

HELENA – A Lewis and Clark County Judge sentenced Kaleb Taylor to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his parents.

A family friend discovered the bodies of David and Charla Taylor in their Cayuse Road home on March 19, 2018.

Prosecutors alleged Taylor, along with several other people, burglarized his parents’ business and his parents then confronted him about the crime.

Court documents state Taylor and two other men, Journey Wieneke and Kyle Hamm, drove to Taylor’s home.

Investigators said Hamm waited outside while Taylor and Wieneke went inside the home. They left 15 minutes later.

Surveillance video at a car wash showed Taylor and Wieneke washing off their shoes, and all three cleaning out Taylor’s pickup.

Taylor pleaded guilty to two counts of deliberate homicide as part of a plea agreement.

Wieneke and Hamm have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Third suspect in double murder case appears in court

(March 27, 2018) The third suspect in last week’s double murder at a home in the Helena Valley made his first appearance in court Monday.

Journey Ryder John Wieneke is charged with two counts of deliberate homicide, tampering with evidence, burglary and theft. His bond was set at $500,000.

The bodies of David and Charla Taylor were found in their home on Cayuse Road last week. Their son, Kaleb David Taylor, and another man, Kyle Alexander Hamm, have also been arrested in connection with the crime.

Prosecutors say Kaleb Taylor, along with Wieneke, Hamm and a fourth man, burglarized his parents’ business, Lincoln Road RV Park, on March 10. They believe the Taylors confronted their son about the crime.

Hamm allegedly told investigators he stood outside the victims’ home on the night of the murder, while Taylor and Wieneke went inside.

According to court documents, security video from a nearby car wash shows the three men washing Kaleb Taylor’s truck after the murder. Prosecutors say Wieneke also washed his feet and a long bar that investigators believe may have been the murder weapon.

Also on Monday, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office announced that they had located a person of interest in the case. They said Andrew Nam Duncan was arrested at a Helena residence Sunday night. He is being held on a petition to revoke and a warrant for felony theft charges. He is also facing a misdemeanor charge for criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

The sheriff’s office announced Duncan was a person of interest last week, but he has not been named a suspect in the murders.

Duncan did not appear in court Monday. Two other people, Kevin Matthew Finley and Deeanna Petersen Wright, did appear, on charges that they helped hide Duncan from law enforcement, knowing that he had a warrant for his arrest. Both were charged with felony obstruction of justice.