GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s been nearly 20 years since Ashley Lyons was shot to death at a Scott County park.
Her family has faced their pain every day since her murder, and now has to face the possibility that her ex, her killer, will be released from prison.
“I grieve every day. I miss her EVERY day,” said Ashley’s mom Carol.
On the 20th anniversary of her murder, Carol is reminded that her daughter would have been 38 years old. Her unborn grandson would have been 19.
“There's always an empty chair at the table. Always an empty place at the house and everything. It's just, it's just hard,” said Carol.
Ashley’s best friend, Bobbi Gibson, said, “It's crazy and a lot has changed in 20 years, but that's something that's not. She's just never coming back.”
Carol Lyons said Ashley came to the park on the evening of January 7, 2004, to show an ultrasound to her ex-boyfriend, Roger McBeath, the father of her child.
Hours later, Ashley’s family would find her shot and killed in her car, the ultrasound still sitting on her lap.
“It's just…it's like her, it's like writing a book and all the pages are gone at the end. She didn't get to fulfill her life,” said Carol.
McBeath and his girlfriend, Dena Williams, were convicted of the crime. Despite the closure of a conviction, the Lyons say everything has changed for the worse in the years since Ashley’s murder.
“When he killed Ashley and Landon, he didn't just kill them, he killed our family, he killed his family, he killed his other girlfriend's family, he destroyed her best friend's family. It's like dropping a rock in the middle of the water and the ripples go out and just keep getting bigger. Everything just came apart,” said Ashley’s brother, Chris.
Amid the change, anger may be the only constant as it fuels their fight for justice.
Williams made parole in 2021. The next decision about McBeath’s parole is coming on December 27.
“It's just an indescribable amount of hate I have for him,” said Gibson.
Ashley’s friends and family have given their statements to the parole board. For Chris, that included, “If you could kill your own child, who wouldn't you kill?”
The family prays for a denial, but even if he does stay behind bars, it won’t release any of their pain.
“It eats at you every day, wondering what's gonna happen and everything, and then when you finally get the answer, you have a little bit of relief…but you still…nothing will ever bring her back and it'll never get better,” said Carol.
