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Teen admits helping burn Three Forks woman in grisly murder case

Posted: Jun 30, 2010 3:31 PM by Erin Yeykal (KBZK-Bozeman)
Updated: Jul 14, 2010 5:31 PM

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A teenage boy, Lance Myran, admitted on Wednesday that he helped his father incinerate the body of a Three Forks woman after his father murdered her last year.

Myran, 15, admitted to the crime before Gallatin County Judge John Brown late Wednesday morning. Originally charged with tampering with evidence, a felony, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of obstructing a peace officer, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to two years of youth probation and ordered to live with his mother in Miles City where he will enter the ninth grade this coming school year.

For the first time, Myran admitted to the court Wednesday that his father, Jay Myran, killed Gayle Brewster. Lance Myran also admitted that he helped his father destroy the 53-year-old woman's body and that he knew what he did was illegal.

His attorney, Brandon Hartford of Billings, said it is unclear if Lance Myran will testify at his father's trial which is scheduled for August.

"This young man has owned his part of this crime since the beginning," Hartford said after the hearing. "It's clear to me Lance isn't the type of young man who would do this kind of thing on his own."

Lance Myran will have his GPS monitor bracelet removed, his $50,000 bond will be exonerated and he will return to Miles City to live with his mother, Christina Myran. He finished the eighth grade with the help of a tutor and will enter high school this coming school year. He will be on youth probation for two years, but after the first year will undergo an evaluation by a counselor and could be released from probation at that time, depending on the evaluation.

"The kid wants and deserves a shot at a real life," Hartford said.

Lance Myran was originally scheduled to go to trial in July, but his change of plea hearing was tacked onto Wednesday court schedule.

Meanwhile, Lance's father, Jay Myran, is still scheduled for trial in August for deliberate homicide. He is accused of shooting Brewster, his ex-girlfriend, inside her home and then burning her remains in a barrel outside the home.

Brewster was reported missing in May. About two weeks later, authorities found her remains in a burn barrel outside the home she shared with Myran on Pyfer Road.

A Gallatin County Sheriff's deputy went to Brewster's residence on May 27 after her landlord reported her missing. The deputy spoke with Jay Myran who said he hadn't seen Brewster since May 12 and that she had left town for several weeks, according to court documents.

Cadaver dogs were brought in to search the area and "'showed interest' consistent with the positive presence of the odor of human tissue and/or blood decay on the area of floor just inside of Gayle's bedroom," court papers state.

Further investigation revealed bone chips mixed with ash in a burn barrel outside the home. Authorities also found bits of lead consistent with a shotgun shot, a metal plate consistent with an x-ray of Brewster's ankle and jewelry beads in the burn barrel.

During an earlier interview with detectives, Jay Myran said he was in the trailer on May 12 with a 410 shotgun in his hand, getting ready to shoot rabbits, when Brewster grabbed the shotgun barrel and placed it in her mouth and it discharged, court papers indicate.

Jay Myran reportedly told authorities he dragged Brewster's body outside where he left it overnight. The next day he placed the body in the burn barrel and lit it on fire, adding wood to the fire as it burned throughout the day, he reportedly told authorities.

Jay Myran reportedly told detectives his son helped him dispose of Brewster's body in a burn barrel outside the trailer. Lance stayed home from school on May 13 to help keep the fire going to dispose of the body, court papers state.

Jay Myran is being held on $1 million bond.

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