Ft. Bridger man gets life in prison for ‘half-baked, poorly executed’ murder-for-hire

EVANSTON — A Bridger Valley man was sentenced to life in prison last Thursday after unsuccessfully orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot against his ex-wife.

According to a sworn affidavit by Uinta County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Kerby Barker, he and Sgt. Brooke Hale met with Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson Kallas on June 9, 2021. During the meeting, Kallas revealed a plot that was under investigation at Platte County Detention Center in Wheatland.

While incarcerated in Wheatland, Matthew Olson, of Ft. Bridger, communicated a desire to kill his ex-wife. Also involved in the scheme was Shannon Ambriola, Olson’s stepsister and the mother of his newborn child. Ambriola would later help transfer the payment for the planned murder.