Found Deceased CO - Laurie Teter, 37, Fort Morgan, 2 Sept 2015

Crone said the investigation into Laurie Teter's murder has taken up a significant amount of the sheriff's office's resources since September. He and the other officers on staff have spoken with several possible witnesses, but Crone said not all of those interviews were helpful.

"We're dealing with a lot of people who have provided rumors and false information," he said. "We've been chasing down a lot of false leads... which, on a major case like this, is pretty common."

In order to verify the information they receive, they have been searching through county records and hundreds of hours of surveillance footage from the area.

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About six months after the body of 37-year-old Laurie Teter went missing, a Log Lane Village man is sitting in the Logan County Jail facing over half a dozen felony charges, including second degree murder...

"Investigators pored over hours of surveillance video, conducted forensic examinations of cell phones and computers, and analyzed tens of thousands of pages of records. As part of those analyses, evidence of a sexual assault of a girl under the age of 15, along with enticement of a child by use of the Internet was discovered, leading to the other charges," the release stated.

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Robert Smith, age 37, was arrested at 200 Oak Street in Log Lane Village at 3 p.m. Tuesday on a Morgan County District Court warrant charging him with multiple felonies. They include:

•Second-degree murder;

•Attempting to influence a public servant;

•Tampering with physical evidence;

•Perjury in the first degree;

•Sexual assault of a child by one in a position of trust;

•Internet luring of a child with intent to exploit;

•Enticement of a child.

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The Log Lane Village man charged with the death of Laurie Teter will be serving a 22-year prison sentence--but not for murder.

Robert Smith, 37, who was arrested in March in connection with Teter's disappearance and death in September of 2015, pled guilty on Friday to first-degree assault, first-degree perjury and attempted sexual assault on a child. Chief District Judge Michael Singer sentenced him to 10 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for assault and six years for each of the other crimes, to be served consecutively. The other charges for which Smith was arrested, including second-degree murder, were dropped.

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But during Smith's Friday hearing in Logan County District Court, Morgan County District Attorney Brittny Lewton, who represented the prosecution, said her side had not been able to prove that he was responsible for Teter's death. She said that because Teter's body had decomposed significantly when it was found, it was difficult for investigators to establish a cause of death or any other definitive evidence. She also said Teter and Smith lived a "dangerous, unhealthy lifestyle" that could have contributed to the former's disappearance and death. As a result, the investigation is still open.

"We are still in the position that we do not know what happened to Miss Teter," Lewton said.

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