The criminal record of Fredrick Lamb was closed to the public Tuesday when Albany County District Court Judge Tori Kricken signed an order of expungement, removing his record from public access.
Defense attorney Vaughn Neubauer said expunging Lamb’s criminal record was appropriate because he does not have any formal charges or convictions at this time. He was previously charged with a count of murder in the first degree and a count of arson in the first degree, which were dismissed earlier this year.
The charges were connected to the 1985 murder of Shelli Wiley. Laramie Police Department officers were dispatched Oct. 20, 1985, to an apartment complex on Taylor Street.
When they arrived, they found an apartment engulfed in flames. Officers learned Shelli Rane Wiley, 22 at the time, lived there and was found burned in the front room of the dwelling, court documents state.
“They took a man with no previous criminal record (who was in law enforcement) and turned his life upside down with a first-degree murder charge,” Neubauer said.
Law enforcement agencies still have access to Lamb’s records and continue to investigate the incident. Because his previous charges were dismissed without prejudice, he could be charged again if there is evidence of his involvement in the murder or arson, deputy county attorney Cody Jerabek said.
“The charges were dismissed without prejudice, and the state is still investigating (the incident),” Jerabek said. “The attorney’s office is planning to refile charges once the investigation is concluded.”
An arson investigator reported the fire was caused by an accelerant poured in several rooms of the apartment, in what the investigator said appeared to be an attempt to cover up evidence of a homicide. During an autopsy of Wiley, a severe laceration on her neck was discovered and identified as the cause of death, along with several stab wounds, four lacerations to the cranium and a skull fracture, court documents state.
While the officers were investigating the crime scene, they noticed a trail of blood leading to Wiley’s apartment from apartment No. 3 — where Lamb was staying at the time — along with a large pool of blood in between the two. After analyzing the DNA profiles from the blood, they found it came from Wiley and Lamb, court documents state.
Lamb told the officers he awoke to a woman screaming around 5 a.m., but after looking around and not seeing anything, he went back to bed until people started pounding on the door saying there was a fire, court documents state.
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