Natrona County Man Dies Serving Life Sentence for Raping 77-Year-Old Woman in 1994

A man convicted of first degree sexual assault and sentenced to life in prison died on July 30th at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Facility in Torrington.

Mark Wilkening (aka Mark Merchant) was sentenced by Natrona County Judge Spangler.

According to court records, on April 2, 1994, Wilkening entered the apartment of a 77-year-old woman.

When she asked him to leave he told her to be quiet, shoved her on the bed, and struck her on the chin. He slashed her hand with a knife and committed two separate sexual assaults.

Then Wilkening demanded money and, after finding the victim's purse, took a $50 bill and two $20 bills out of her wallet. He also took a newspaper clipping, an obituary of the victim's cousin.

A follow-up investigation found blood-stained clothing in Wilkening's apartment that matched the description of the clothing the victim had reported as well as her blood type.

Wilkening was stopped by a Wyoming highway patrol officer while driving a stolen car without a license plate; he was arrested. A search yielded the victim's wallet containing her identification, a $50 bill, two $20 bills, the obituary he had taken, and a "butterfly" knife.

After a twoday trial, Wilkening was convicted on all counts. He was sentenced to a life term on each charge of first degree sexual assault, and a term of not less than twenty, nor more than twenty-five, years for each of the counts of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery, with the provision that all sentences run concurrently.