Deming Man Sentenced To Life In Prison

DEMING, N.M. (AP) – A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the death of a woman whose body was found in an abandoned well north of Deming.

Chester Likes was sentenced Thursday in Deming by state District Judge Gary Jeffreys. Likes pleaded guilty March 22 to first-degree murder in exchange for the life prison sentence.

The remains of 50-year-old Melinda Widby were found Aug. 20, 2006. She was living at a Deming recreational vehicle park when she was reported missing Feb. 10, 2006.

Police have said they believe she died about eight days earlier. Police have said Widby might have been hog-tied – a wire looped around her feet, hands and neck.

Medical investigators haven’t been able to determine how she died.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)