Amy Preasmyer Was 16 and Pregnant When She Conspired to Kill Her Boyfriend. Here’s Why It Took a Decade to Convict Her

In August 1997, 21-year-old Richard “Ricky” Cowles Jr. was found beaten and shot inside the Lancaster, Calif., apartment he shared with his 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend Amy Lynn Preasmyer.

A re-aired 2023 Dateline investigation is shedding new light on the old case, which saw Preasmyer eventually convicted for conspiring to kill her boyfriend.

Police initially arrested William “Billy” Hoffman, who had allegedly told several people that he killed the young electrician, according to the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers. He was found guilty in 1999 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Though he argued his innocence at trial, Hoffman later admitted his guilt in a letter to Cowles’ parents. He not only confessed to killing their son, but also told investigators that he would testify against Preasmyer for orchestrating the whole thing. 

“She had reached a point, I believe, where in her own words, she blamed the victim for the pregnancy and basically told other people he had ruined her birthday and ruined her life,” Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake told the Los Angeles Daily News. 

He continued, “There was other evidence she despised the victim. By August 1997, she is actively looking for someone to kill him.”

Here’s everything to know about the murder of Ricky Cowles Jr., and where Amy Preasmyer is now. 

What happened to Ricky Cowles Jr.?

On Aug. 12, 1997, Cowles was found beaten and shot in his apartment by Preasmyer, who had been out for a drive with a friend. Though he was alive, he became comatose and died two days later, according to Dateline.  

Months later, police arrested Hoffman, a store clerk, and he was found guilty of beating the young father-to-be with a claw hammer and shooting him. He had reportedly told several people about the murder and had asked for help disposing of evidence. 

At his trial, Hoffman tried to testify that another man was responsible for Cowles’ death, but he later confessed to his role in the murder in a 2002 letter to the victim’s family, per Los Angeles Daily News.  

According to the outlet, though witnesses testified during his trial that Hoffman had said he committed the murder for Cowles’ girlfriend, Preasmyer denied any involvement.

She was, however, later arrested in 2005.

What was Amy Preasmyer convicted of?

In 2007, Preasmyer was found guilty of orchestrating her boyfriend’s death. She was convicted of murder with the special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait, conspiracy and solicitation of murder, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. 

Two other people were also convicted on charges related to Cowles’ murder. Jennifer Kellogg, who stayed with the couple the week of the killing, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, according to Antelope Valley Press. 

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Hoffman testified in court that Kellogg was the one who asked him if he was willing to kill somebody and that Cowles had wanted her out of his apartment. She and Preasmyer also brought him to the residence and suggested places where he could hide. 

“The girls suggested hiding places and how to commit the murder,” District Attorney Blake told the Los Angeles Daily News. “Because they believed the victim would fight back, it was decided Hoffman would disable him and shoot him.” 

Blake also told the Antelope Valley Press that Hoffman believed he would be paid for killing the young man, but never was. 

In 2006, David Ashbury was sentenced to two years in prison for supplying the pistol used in the murder, per Antelope Valley Press.

Where is Amy Preasmyer now?

In 2008, Preasmyer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While incarcerated at Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, Calif., she was falsely accused of sexual assault and moved to Administrative Segregation (Ad-Seg). 

She wrote about her experience and the conditions of Ad-Seg in a 2013 essay for the San Francisco Bay View. Preasmyer is also a contributing writer for a nonprofit writing platform for incarcerated individuals called Prison Writers.

Where is William Hoffman now?

In 1999, Hoffman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His sentence was later commuted by former California Governor Jerry Brown, and he was released in 2020. 

He told Dateline in 2023 that since he’s been out, he’s been living a life of amends and wants to educate young people on the consequences of committing violent crimes. 

“[Cowles’ murder] is something I don’t like to think about, but there’s also part of it that I don’t want to forget what I’ve done either,” Hoffman told journalist Keith Morrison. “I can’t make it go away, and I don’t feel it would be right to make it go away.”