Judge: Marine's murder case can move to trial after texts, GPS data, computer files and ex-girlfriend's testimony build case

The criminal defense of Curtis Lee Krueger, a Twentynine Palms Marine charged with beating a Murrieta man to death and leaving his body half-buried in Joshua Tree National Park in 2018, faces new challenges after his former girlfriend pleaded guilty to helping him escape and provided more details to police.

Prosecutors also revealed text messages, GPS data and computer files that police found, causing prosecutors to add a new charge and a Riverside County Superior Court judge to rule there is enough evidence for the man to stand trial.

On June 20, Ashlie Stapp, 28, was sentenced to 300 days county jail and a substance abuse treatment program after pleading guilty to her part in disposing of the body of Henry Allen Stange, found by a hiker near a popular Joshua Tree campground days later. Stapp was released with credit for time already served.

Stapp filed her plea a week before Krueger, 31, was scheduled to appear at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for him to stand trial for one count of murder.

Prosecutors told the judge they decided to add a charge against Krueger for assault with a deadly weapon stemming from evidence that the former Marine allegedly attacked Stange with a hammer months before the lethal incident.

Kreuger’s hearing began Thursday in the shadow of Stapp’s admission of guilt and a question about what evidence she had provided the prosecution.

Krueger's defense attorney, Brian Cosgrove, told the judge he was not prepared to address any statements Stapp may have made about his client being involved in the alleged hammer attack because the prosecution had not yet shared that evidence.

In response, Daniel DeLimon, the prosecuting attorney, agreed to bring only evidence the defense had seen and testimony from three witnesses into court for the hearing.

According to a court filing, a man hiking near Joshua Tree National Park’s Jumbo Rocks Campground on June 1, 2018, spotted vultures circling over what he thought to be a dead animal and later alerted park authorities.

The next day, a National Park Service ranger discovered “a shallow gravesite” containing a “deceased human body,” according to a warrant.

“The upper torso of the body was covered in dirt; the lower portion of the torso was exposed,” the warrant reads. “Due to the obvious decomposition of the lower torso it appeared the body had been at the grave site for several days.”

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Dan Moody testified Thursday about Stange's autopsy, saying the medical examiner identified three impact points to the man's skull and several lacerations indicating he was beaten. He also described the grotesque condition of the body when found at the burial site as "very decomposed."

"I would not say this in a joking way," Moody testified, "but I would describe it as something you would see on the show the Walking Dead.”

Ultimately, Moody said that the medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be “Homicidal Violence.”

After the body was identified, Moody went with an investigative team to Stange's home in Murrieta to search for evidence. On the inside of the home, Moody described a "normal looking" house with pictures of family members on the wall.

But in the garage, Moody said, next to a stored boat sitting on a trailer and near Stange's ham radio broadcast equipment, investigators found a pile of towels.

"We lifted up one of the towels carefully," Moody said, "and there was a lot of blood."

The prosecution showed the court several pictures of a dried pool of blood in the corner of a garage filled with boxes and tools.

Murrieta Police Department Investigator Jason Calvert said the pool of blood and blood splatters on surrounding items suggested a "prolonged assault" on Stange before he was driven to Joshua Tree for the botched burial.

Calvert said interviews with people who knew Stange led the police to Stapp, who he found to have allegedly had a drug-fueled affair with Stange while she was engaged to Krueger.

Calvert said he captured Krueger and Stapp discussing the murder through a phone wiretap. Further warrants to search their phones' location tracking data showed Krueger circuitously traveling on the day of the murder from Twentynine Palms to Stapp's family home in Canyon Lake, then to the area of Stange's home, back to Stapp's family home, back to Stange's house and finally to Joshua Tree around midnight.

"Krueger made a statement that he backed his truck up far enough into the garage so that the surveillance cameras wouldn't have seen anything," Calvert described hearing on the wiretap. "And that the neighbors wouldn't have been able to see him 'load him into the vehicle.'"

A laptop seized at Krueger's mobile home in Twentynine Palms provided further evidence, Calvert testified. Both Krueger and Stapp used the computer to back up the data saved on their mobile phones. According to these text messages and notes, Krueger became aware in late 2018 that Stapp had been going to Stange's house to do drugs, Calvert said, and that a sexual relationship had been sparked.

"Nice knowing you, hope you're having fun with Henry," Calvert described one text from Krueger.

In February 2018, Calvert testified, Krueger wrote in a digital note that he was a "fool for thinking his relationship with Ashlie would work" after she cheated on him.

And Calvert testified that a text allegedly sent directly to Stange read: "Talk to Ashlie again and you'll regret it."

Krueger and Stapp were arrested on Aug. 29, 2018, but were released from custody days later after the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against the two.

Months passed with little information about the investigation, when Krueger was re-arrested on Dec. 13, 2018, at Camp Pendleton Marine Base. He was charged with Stange’s murder and pleaded not-guilty.

Ashlie Nicole Stapp was arrested on April 17, 2019 in Canyon Lake, CA., in connection with the death of Henry Stange.

Stapp remained free for months while Krueger's murder charges advanced and the Marine Corps discharged him, until Murrieta Police Department announced on April 19, that they had arrested her in connection with the homicide investigation.

She was initially charged with one count of helping Krueger evade arrest, but a kidnapping charge was added in May when new details emerged about the hours before Stange was buried, according to a spokesperson for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

"Based on the current state of the evidence in this case, we have a reasonable belief that the victim may have been alive when taken from the residence," John Hall said in May.

While the prosecution agreed to not present evidence at Thursday's hearing from a statement that Stapp had recently made in the process of her plea, Murrieta Police Detective Andrew Spagnolo testified to what she told officers at the time of her first arrest in August 2018.

"She was in the residence, but did not witness the murder," Spagnolo testified regarding Stapp's 2018 statement.

Spagnolo said Stapp told police she was in the bathroom of Stange's house when "a friend" came in and told her they needed to leave. She said her friend had "done something bad to Henry, Spagnolo testified, and as they exited the garage she saw Stange laying in a pool of blood.

Stagnolo testified that Stapp and Krueger later wrapped Stange in a blanket and put him in the back of Krueger's truck and drove him to Joshua Tree.

"Curtis asked her to help him take Henry from the back of the truck and put him in the grave he had prepared and help bury him," Spagnolo said.

Stagnolo testified that Stapp alleged Stange had raped her when she was high, and that she beleived Krueger might have been seeking revenge.

At the conclusion of Thursday's hearing, the judge ruled that there was enough evidence for Krueger to stand trial for both the murder and the assault charges.