A Wyoming man who said he ‘wanted to feel it’ as he beat a woman to death has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty.
Kevin Joseph Mendibles, 37, pleaded guilty to the brutal murder of Inez Whiteman, 37, in a plea deal that lowered the charge to second-degree murder.
Mendibles’ statement to police was that ‘he wanted to feel it’ as he savagely assaulted Whiteman, Assistant attorney Michael Elmore told the court.
Mendibles was arrested in July 2024 and faced life imprisonment with up to a $250,000 fine after he was charged with killing Whiteman in her home on 25 February 2024.
Police found the victim horrifically beaten and with a pipe stabbed in her groin and heart, according to the testimony of a US Bureau of Indian Affairs special agent.
The agent further said EMS found a ‘faint heartbeat’ upon arrival, she was then declared deceased at the scene, Cowboy State Daily reported.
An indictment brought against Mendibles claimed that he ‘willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought unlawfully kill [Inez Whiteman by beating and stabbing.’
On Friday in court, it was revealed that Mendibles had been drunk and on drugs at the time of the gruesome killing.
Kevin Joseph Mendibles, 37, pleaded guilty to the brutal murder of Inez Whiteman, 37, in a plea deal that lowered the charge to second-degree murder
Police found the victim horrifically beaten and with a pipe stabbed in her groin and heart. The agent further said EMS found a ‘faint heartbeat’ upon arrival, she was then declared deceased at the scene
In a statement to the court, Mendibles admitted to being intoxicated on the night of the murder and that he ‘wasn’t in my right mind,’ Cowboy State Daily reported.
‘I know what I did was very horrible and wrong,’ he said. ‘I want to apologize to the family. I apologize to my family as well for the mistake that I made.’
Presiding Judge Kelly Rankin described the crimes as ‘unusually heinous, cruel and degrading.’
‘This is a very tragic incident that leaves no winners,’ Rankin said, and said the photographs of Whiteman’s injuries were ‘horrific.’
Rankin reprimanded Mendibles and said that ‘Inez had provided you a place to live.’
Defense attorney Craig Silva told the court that Mendibles had grown up in an abusive home, that he was sexually abused as a child and that he had an issue with drugs and alcohol.
Silva asked for the judge to consider Mendibles’ three sons and to provide balance to what he described as a ‘monstrous’ crime that wasn’t committed by a ‘monster.’
Elmore had asked Rankin to exceed the sentencing to due to the ‘cruel and prolonged’ nature of the victim’s death.
Whiteman’s brother, Harlan Whiteman, told the court that his sister was a ‘beautiful person’ who was ‘taken from us way too soon.’ ‘Now my two nieces will have to continue their lives knowing their mother is buried in the ground,’ he said
Whiteman’s cousin, Sunny Goggles, testified that the victim had ‘opened up her home’ to others and given Mendibles a place to stay – which Goggles said ‘was her biggest mistake.’
Goggles said after Whiteman’s death, she made moccasins for her, but the family was not able to dress her or have an open casket because she had been so badly beaten, reported the outlet.
‘What happened to her is beyond horrible. This man is a monster,’ Goggles said. ‘I know one day he is going to meet Creator and [have to] explain what he has done.’
According to the court, he had waited for Whiteman’s house to be empty before going inside and then confronted her about alleged sexual abuse against one of her children.
Further testimony from the agent emphasized no evidence that this was a true accusation, including a forensic interview of the child, the outlet reported.
Rankin told Mendibles that had he believed abuse was taking place in the home, he had other options than abuse or murder.
‘This was not a heat of the moment – this was brutality,’ Rankin said.
Silva claimed that Mendibles was ‘redeemable’ despite the charges and provided the court with a letter from a family friend.
‘I hope you think of Inez and her family every day,’ Judge Kelly H. Rankin told Mendibles. ‘I hope you improve yourself, I wish you luck sir’
The letter referred to Mendibles as a ‘good kid’ who was ‘bullied’ by his father, and he had grown up in a home where the fridge was locked so he was forced to eat the ‘scraps’ provided to him.
The family friend claimed that he had been clean for more than ten years while raising his sons, but he got back into drugs and alcohol which lead to a domestic abuse charge with another woman shortly before he murdered Whiteman.
Mendibles pled guilty to the violent abuse of a different woman nine days before the murder. Police responded to a report of domestic violence, and when officers arrived, a woman was heard screaming for help.
Lander Police Officer Casey Tadewald said that he had asked to be shown the man’s hands, which were bloody.
After detaining Mendibles, the officer turned to the woman who had suffered a laceration near her left eye with her face, hands and clothes bloodied, according to an affidavit.
Tadewald reported that Mendibles, according to the victim, had threatened to kill her and had hit her in the face, Cowboy State Daily reported.
Mendibles pled guilty to one count of domestic battery on February 16, 2024, and was released on an unsecured bond of $1,250 and ordered to avoid alcohol and the victim.
He was scheduled to be sentenced on March 19, but the case was classified as ‘inactive’ following the murder charge brought against him.
Whiteman’s cousin, Sunny Goggles, testified that the victim had ‘opened up her home’ to others and given Mendibles a place to stay – which Goggles said ‘was her biggest mistake’
Whiteman’s family remembered her as someone who ‘had a big heart helping people when she could.’
Her brother, Harlan Whiteman, told the court that his sister was a ‘beautiful person’ who was ‘taken from us way too soon.’
‘Now my two nieces will have to continue their lives knowing their mother is buried in the ground,’ he said.
Whiteman’s best friend, Sage Cacey, wrote on Facebook that her ‘sweet best friend of 30 years did not deserve this,’ and declared that Mendibles sentence isn’t enough ‘thinking of her babies.’
‘My heart broke all over again…may he get what he deserves and “feels” every bit of it,’ she wrote.
Mendibles was sentenced to 40 years on Friday as well as an $8,983.19 fine and other court expenses.
He was also ordered to take part in a drug and alcohol program and mental health treatment, according to court documents.
‘I hope you think of Inez and her family every day,’ Rankin told him. ‘I hope you improve yourself, I wish you luck sir.’
