In the early morning hours of May 29, 2013, the quiet community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, was shattered by a tragic event that claimed the life of 9-year-old Asher Lesyshen-Kirlan. The young male was found deceased in his home from multiple gunshot wounds. Responding to a distressing 911 call from Asher's father, Michael Kirlan, Routt County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the residence to a horrific scene.
Kirlan reported that his son had been shot and that his wife, Lisa Marie Lesyshen, was upstairs with a gun.
Inside the home, deputies discovered Asher's body. Upstairs, they found his 45-year-old mother, Lisa Lesyshen, unconscious with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was transported to a hospital for treatment. The preliminary investigation suggested a murder-suicide attempt, with Lesyshen identified as the sole suspect in her son's death.
The investigation that followed revealed a household in turmoil. Lesyshen and Kirlan were in the process of separating, though they still lived in the same house. Prosecutors alleged that Lesyshen's actions were a calculated act of revenge against her husband after discovering he was involved with another woman just days before the shooting. Authorities found a note at the scene, purportedly written by Lesyshen, that read, 'Remember you are responsible for what has happened here and you are the person that caused it,' and was signed by both her and Asher.
Lisa Lesyshen was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. Initially, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. However, in August 2014, she changed her plea, pleading guilty to second-degree murder. As a result of the plea agreement, she was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The self-inflicted gunshot wound left Lesyshen paralyzed, and she required specialized care that the Routt County Jail could not provide, leading to her incarceration in Denver's jail facilities.
