Man who killed prominent Aspen woman found dead in cell
ASPEN, Colo. -A former Denver anesthesiologist who pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of a prominent Aspen woman has been found dead in his jail cell.
The Aspen Times reports 67-year-old William Styler was found dead at the Arrowhead Correctional Center in Canon City on Thursday morning. Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller says the death "most likely was self-inflicted."
WATCH: "48 Hours:" Murder in Aspen
Prosecutors say Styler killed 57-year-old Nancy Pfister on Feb. 24, 2014, striking her with a hammer while she slept. Her body was found bound with an electrical cord, wrapped in plastic garbage bags and hidden underneath sheets in her closet by her friend and personal assistant, Kathy Carpenter.
Pfister's parents co-founded the Buttermilk ski area and she was known in the community as a member of "Aspen royalty." The murder rocked the mountain community, and "48 Hours" investigated the case in the episode, "Murder in Aspen."
Pfister had rented her home to Styler and his wife while she vacationed in Australia. She was killed shortly after she returned to Aspen.
Prosecutors suggested that the motive may have been a financial dispute. Styler's wife, Nancy, told "48 Hours" that at first, the couple had a good relationship with Pfister. But soon, she said, the relationship soured.
"I've never been treated so poorly by anyone in my life," Nancy Styler said.
Both William and Nancy Styler, along with Pfister's assistant Carpenter, were initially charged with murder in the case. Prosecutors alleged the three bonded over their resentment of Pfister and were all involved in the murder. But after William Styler's confessed to killing his former landlord alone, charges were dropped against the two women.
Carpenter and Nancy Styler both maintained their innocence in interviews with "48 Hours."
"It just really hurts me to think that people might think that I was capable of something like this. There's no way. There's no way," Carpenter said in the broadcast.
"My reputation was shining. And now I'm guilty by matrimony," Nancy Styler said.
William Styler was sentenced to 20 years in prison.