Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Wednesday, April 23rd. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Wyoming Community Gas. The Choice Gas selection period ends on Wednesday April 23rd – This is your opportunity to select your Natural Gas Provider for the coming year. For more information, visit Wyoming Community Gas dot ORG."

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Cristy Cobb said her son Liam dealt with mental health issues long before he died by suicide at the age of 19, jumping from a wind turbine near Douglas earlier this month.

Cristy told Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson that she hopes that her son's life can serve as inspiration that it's possible for life to get better, even when people feel they're in a dark place.

"She described him as very tortured in that… he had been dealing with mental health issues for a few years. He had even told his parents a few years ago that he planned to commit suicide and had a plan to do it. So this was not nothing new, and not, you know, necessarily a huge shocker for the Cobbs, but they actively tried to fight it, and they did what they could for Liam those last few years, trying to reach out to him as much as possible, be as supportive as possible… he pursued different kind of forms of athletics, just to kind of get his endorphins up, to kind of have a better attitude towards life. He pursued cycling and bodybuilding, and she believes those things at least helped kind of hold off some of the demons that were ailing him. But at the end of the day, it still wasn't enough."

Cobb said she wants her son's death to serve as a reminder for people to reach out to those they know who have mental struggles and let them know they matter.

Read the full story HERE.

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A judge has found sufficient evidence to charge a former certified nursing assistant in Gillette with involuntary manslaughter, in connection with the freezing death of an 88-year-old memory care patient at the Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center.

57-year-old Bernard Hale was bound over to district court Tuesday on charges that he was responsible for the death of Judith Duvall, who wandered outside of the care facility in early January and died the morning of Jan. 10, after spending more than nine hours in frigid temperatures before being discovered by staff.

Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that Duvall's official cause of death was exposure and hypothermia.

"The crux of the argument is whether or not Bernard Hale was negligent in not opening the door after Judith Duvall triggered the alarm and went outside. The State argues that, yes, he definitely was based on the standard of care for CNA professionals, he should have opened that door and gone outside to look for her or to look to see if any patient had gone out and in, then also interviewed the patient who was closest to the door. So the state alleges he did neither… the counter argument by the defense is that the legacy did not have written protocols in place dictating that particular door policy so and their further argument is there was another CNA also working that night… he also it heard two alarms and also did not open the doors."

Hale is currently being detained in the Campbell County Detention Center. If found guilty of the charge,