Two area residents have been formally charged with first-degree murder in a man’s death at Perry Lake, and a third resident is charged with trying to help her daughter get away with the murder.

Jonathan D. Blevins and Ashlyn N. Hemmerling are each charged with first-degree murder for allegedly premeditating and intentionally killing Taylor D. Sawyer on March 14, according to charges provided Wednesday by the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office.

Hemmerling’s mother, Sarah M. Hemmerling, is charged with obstructing apprehension or prosecution for allegedly helping her daughter avoid legal consequences when she knew she’d committed murder, according to the charging document. The crime is a felony.

Blevins, 22, is from Topeka and was arrested at a Lawrence smoke shop where he worked, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Ashlyn Hemmerling, 18, and Sarah Hemmerling, 37, were living in Baldwin City, according to the sheriff’s office.

Court charging documents also list Blevins’ home address as Topeka but list no city of residence for the Hemmerlings.

photo by: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Jonathan D. Blevins

photo by: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Ashlyn N. Hemmerling

Sarah Hemmerling

Jefferson County Attorney Josh Ney declined further comment on the pending cases.

Ney said all three defendants have made their first appearances in Jefferson County court and were appointed attorneys — Blevins on Friday, and Ashlyn and Sarah Hemmerling on Monday.

Their next court appearances are scheduled for April 10 for Sarah Hemmerling, April 23 for Ashlyn Hemmerling and May 15 for Blevins, according to Ney’s office.

The morning of March 15, Sarah Hemmerling told authorities that her daughter witnessed a homicide the night before at Perry Lake, and Ashlyn Hemmerling was then interviewed about it, Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig previously told the Journal-World.

The sheriff’s office went to the lake that morning and found Sawyer’s body with apparent gunshot wounds. The body was found in a parking area for accessing the lake’s walking trails that has been closed to the public for some time. Sawyer, 22, did not have a permanent address, but frequented the Lawrence and Topeka areas.

Within hours, in early afternoon on March 15, Blevins was arrested on suspicion of murder.

After further investigation, however, Ashlyn Hemmerling’s story didn’t add up, and she became a murder suspect as well, Herrig said. He said authorities believe Blevins pulled the trigger and that Ashlyn Hemmerling helped orchestrate the homicide.

Herrig said authorities believe Sarah Hemmerling helped her daughter disseminate a false story.

The Hemmerlings were arrested March 16.

Herrig said Sarah Hemmerling was in a relationship with the victim, and Ashlyn Hemmerling and Blevins were in a relationship. He said circumstances leading to the homicide may have involved a domestic dispute as well as the group partaking in drugs at the lake.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has worked with Douglas County, Shawnee County and Kansas Bureau of Investigation authorities on the case.