A man has been arrested for killing his wife and mum of two before writing his name in blood on her dead body and sending gruesome details of the act to friends and family.
John Wonder, 31, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action after he strangled and stabbed his beautiful wife, Ashle Ehrhardt Wonder, to death on 22nd September.
The incident reportedly happened at their residence on North Forest Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri State, USA, where the couple who were amidst a bitter divorce lived with their two children, aged 2 and 4.
Police reportedly found the 29-year-old victim in the basement laundry room around 10.30am on the day of the murder, after the couple’s shared employer called to request a welfare check.
The call followed after the employer’s wife found it odd that Ashle did not appear at work that morning, media claimed.
Upon arriving at the residence, family members and cops stormed inside the home before a relative of Ashle’s realised the laundry room door was slightly open but held tight with a bungee cord.
Inside, the 29-year-old mum’s body was found on the floor, with a belt wrapped around her neck. She was additionally nude from the waist down and bleeding from several puncture wounds on the left side.
Moreover, startled cops found a message saying ‘Wonder’ written in blood on one of her legs, while a large butcher knife and a meat cleaver were found next to her.
Ashle’s parents told the officers that the children were randomly dropped on their porch the same morning.
Wonder’s sister showed cops a series of text messages allegedly sent between her and her brother, at around 10.42 that day.
A text she sent, read: “Where the f*ck are you?”
Wonder then reportedly texted back, saying: “Hey kiddo. Sorry about the mess. For the record: it’s way easier and much more satisfying than you can imagine. See you around.”
A friend of Wonder’s then showed additional Facebook messages from the same morning, one of which said: “Hey bud. Sorry to make you the receiver of this, but I have to share with someone.
“I’m about to throw my phone out the windows and will continue North to Fargo. I’m not trying to get away. Just feel like driving, far, far away.”
The next message read: “Part of me wants to get drunk and watch Shawshank Redemption one last time; however, I think it is time for me to go. Goodbye, house.”
Wonder then continued at 7.39am: “Still haven’t cried. Still feel nothing. No more anxiety, though. That’s a plus.”
He then added in a follow-up text: “Now depleted, in anger I placed her gemstones set next to her body. Her third-eye shakra, her moonstone, blah blah blah – a lot of good they did you, hun.”
Over an hour later, Wonder continued messaging his friend, saying: “I’m in the car. I have no doubt I will be caught today.
“I keep thinking about how she never screamed. Just took it like a champ. What a gal. To honor her, I will not go out by a gunshot (suicide by cop), but hopefully a similar fate.”
Then at 10.33 he told his friend in a final message: “Some small town in Northern Missouri – I’m guessing they will be finding her body right about now. I started getting calls at 9.30am.”
Wonder was caught approximately eight hours after Ahlee’s body was found in the city of Valentine, Nebraska.
He is currently being held on a USD 1 million (GBP 823,640) bond and is awaiting to be extradited in Missouri.
The victim’s mum, Lisa Spencer, wrote on Facebook: “This is a post no parent wants to make.
“My heart is completely shattered… My daughter, Ashli Ehrhardt Wonder was senselessly murdered in her home Friday.”
“I appreciate everyone that has reached out and am grateful that you continue to do so. This journey of losing a child in this way is going to be very long.”
A friend of Ashlee’s, Irene Ecklund, said: “An amazing person that is gone way too soon. She had the warmest heart and it came out. She was as beautiful inside as she was outside
“She was going to move into an apartment this week. We all surrounded her with items that we didn’t need anymore, and pretty much furnished her apartment with that, but now, it’s over.”
