Suspect in Gowdy murder changes plea to guilty

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The local man accused of killing another man in Curt Gowdy State Park last year pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on July 18.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Russell Perry’s plea agreement was accepted by Judge Catherine R. Rogers, with sentencing tentatively scheduled for mid-October.

Perry has been placed in custody pending sentencing. He was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but the guilty plea wiped out the need for a trial.

Stacey “Jason” Mullen was found unresponsive at Curt Gowdy State Park, west of Cheyenne, on Aug. 20, 2023. Wyoming State Parks involved the Cheyenne Police Department in the investigation due to the nature of Mullen’s injuries and the potential causes of death.

Mullen suffered what Dr. Jason Greer at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center called “one of the worst brain bleeds” he had ever seen, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Mullen was airlifted to the Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado and died on Aug. 28, 2023, after being removed from life support. His death was classified as a homicide due to blunt force trauma.

Perry and his wife, Gizelle Kellum, often drank with Mullen. Kellum was Mullen’s emergency contact and had previously taken him to CRMC for his alcoholism.

During the investigation, Kellum and Perry claimed they had last seen Mullen around 7 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2023, after dropping him off near the Ames Avenue underpass in Cheyenne.

Later, Kellum confessed that they had driven Mullen out to the park after a night of drinking, during which Perry and Mullen fought.

Kellum’s shift in narrative and Perry admitting to police that he “roughed him up” helped to support charges of accessory after the fact for Kellum and manslaughter for Perry.

Kellum pleaded no contest to her charges on July 1, and she was sentenced to 180 days in jail.

This story was published on August 20, 2024.