A Montana man at the center of a chilling murder-for-hire conspiracy that left a young married couple dead along a remote California highway will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. On January 26, 2026, Cory Spurlock was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after being convicted on a sweeping list of federal charges tied to organized crime, drug trafficking, and calculated murder.

The case traces back to November 9, 2020, when a snowplow driver discovered the bodies of William Larsen, 35, and his wife, Yesenia Arriaga Larsen, 30, along U.S. Highway 395 near Bridgeport, California. Both had been shot and stabbed, launching a homicide investigation that would unravel a complex and violent marijuana trafficking operation stretching across multiple states.

Federal prosecutors revealed that Spurlock, Larsen, and others were involved in a large-scale illegal marijuana distribution ring based in Mound House, Nevada. Tensions escalated after the disappearance of Jered Stefansky, who vanished in June 2020 while transporting cash connected to the drug operation. His skeletal remains were later found in Nevada, and evidence tied his final phone call to Spurlock.