Soldier Guilty Of Murder

FORT LEWIS - A Fort Lewis soldier has been found guilty of murder for helping kill a fellow soldier's wife to collect $300,000 in insurance money.

A jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Spc. Shawn Maciel, 23, guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and obstructing justice. He faces life in prison. Maciel was accused of helping Clayton Kaspers, 22, throw his wife, Rhonda, 25, from a 300-foot cliff above Rock Creek in the Olympic National Forest on June 6, 1992.

A court-martial for Kaspers is scheduled Thursday. Army prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

"They murdered her for money," Army prosecutor Capt. Scott Morris said in closing arguments Thursday. "They were already talking about how they were going to spend the money."

Maciel and Kaspers told Mason County sheriff's deputies that Rhonda Kaspers slipped and fell from the cliff while taking a

photograph.