Man Suspected Of Killing Girfriend, Fleeing State Set For Trial

A 22-year-old East Wenatchee man accused of murdering his girlfriend before being arrested near Toledo, Ohio is set to go on trial. 

Ashton Bunting Jr. has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Synthia Ring.

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He has a trial date set for October 9th in Douglas County Superior Court. 

Bunting is accused of killing Ring and leaving notes expressing regret for the action in the apartment they shared with her four-year-old son.   

Police discovered Ring's body when they entered her apartment June 11 and found her son crying in the living room.   

Medics arrived and noted that Ring had marks on her body, indicating force was the likely cause of death.   

Bunting Jr. had already traveled to South Dakota the day Ring’s body was discovered. Police say he hit a deer while driving and was given a ride by a deputy to another location, with the accident occurring three hours before the welfare check at the apartment.   

Police in South Dakota informed East Wenatchee Police of their encounter with Bunting Jr. after receiving the nationwide alert days later.    

Bunting Jr. was also recorded on surveillance video entering a bicycle shop in Marshall, Minnesota.   

He was then arrested after being stopped for driving 87 mph in a 70-mph zone near Toledo, Ohio.  

Bunting Jr. was subsequently extradited back to Chelan County where he's been in jail since July 24. 

He was arraigned Thursday after a weeklong delay. 

Prosecutors and Bunting Jr.'s court appointed attorney both noted they had received a lack of evidence from police during a hearing Thursday. 

Superior Court Judge Brian Huber urged both sides to reach out to law enforcement for material to be turned over. 

Bunting has an omnibus hearing on September 12 and a readiness hearing on September 26 before his October trial. 

He could serve a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.