Benton City girl guilty of conspiring to kill high school classmate when she was 16

A Benton City girl was convicted Monday of plotting to kill a high school classmate she briefly dated.

Fe Hadley, 18, showed no reaction to the guilty verdict for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

A jury, which got the case at 3:20 p.m., stayed after hours to continue deliberating. The verdict was read in the courtroom about 6 p.m.

Hadley denied conspiring with Jeremiah Cunningham and Gabriel Pfliger to stab 18-year-old Ryan Vaughn behind the Ki-Be Red Apple Market and hide his body in an orchard. Vaughn didn’t end up going behind the store.

In testimony Friday, Hadley said she didn’t believe Cunningham when he mentioned the murder scheme, and had no role in the November 2017 planned attack.

Hadley claimed someone hacked into her Facebook account and sent multiple messages to Vaughn to meet her behind the store.

The plan was foiled by freshmen riding around on scooters, and a couple seniors who became suspicious when they noticed someone — later identified as Cunningham — wearing a red mask.

Cunningham, like Hadley, was 16 at the time.

He testified at Hadley’s trial that he was upset with Vaughn and joked about the older student dying.

Cunningham was supposed to sneak up behind Vaughn, trip him, stab him in the chest with a large, kitchen knife and then drag the body into a ditch in the orchard. It was Hadley’s role to get Vaughn to the location, then to help hide his body, he said.

Pfliger brought a wooden stake with him, but was late arriving that day.

Cunningham testified Hadley was “the lure and leader” and Pfliger the mastermind, and he was there for “brute strength” even though he had doubts about going through with the killing.

Hadley and Vaughn dated for two to three weeks, but the relationship ended not long before the scheduled attack.

Cunningham and Hadley, who had been friends since fifth-grade, also dated for a short time. While they were no longer together, Cunningham said he still had feelings for her.

Hadley’s trial started Oct. 21. She remains locked up on $100,000 bail.

It is not known how many years she will face in prison. A sentencing hearing should be scheduled in the next month before Judge Joe Burrowes.

Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller congratulated his deputies, Terry Bloor and Taylor Clark, along with sheriff’s Detective Scott Runge in a Facebook post Monday evening.

Miller also said credit goes to the Kiona-Benton City School District and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office for their work “that prevented another possible attempt and risk of great tragedy.”

Cunningham also was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and currently is doing the time in a state juvenile facility.

Pfliger’s case was handled in Benton County Juvenile Court. He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 24 hours of community service and supervision for one year.

This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 7:25 PM.