A judge on Thursday granted the request of a Sheridan man to add the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to his petition requesting public records about the disappearance of Kristi Richardson in October 2014 and the death of Mick McMurry in March 2015.

Kim Love, owner of Lovcom, Inc., sued the City of Casper and the police department on May 30 after he unsuccessfully asked them for documents about Richardson's disappearance, McMurry's suicide, and any possible relationship between the two cases.

Releasing the information will give the public information about crime in the community, the performance of authorities investigating the cases, and the possibility that more leads may surface, Love said in his May 30 petition.

However, Interim Police Chief Steve Schulz on May 18 transferred its records about Richardson's disappearance to the DCI, and he did the same on June 7 with McMurry's suicide, according to the city's response to Lovcom's petition.

Lovcom responded the law and facts supporting the release of the records now with the DCI are the same as those it had in demanding the records from the City of Casper and the police department.

Thursday, Love's attorney Bruce Moats made this case to Natrona County District Court Judge Thomas Sullins.

Assistant City Attorney Will Chambers, who was accompanied by Schulz, had no objections to the request.

Sullins granted Love's request.

Moats will file the amended petition within the next 10 days, and the DCI then will be expected to respond.

No one from the DCI was present for the hearing.

DCI did not return a phone call seeking comment.

After the hearing, Moats said he and Love asked DCI officials for a meeting about releasing the documents. DCI officials initially were open to the idea, but later declined, Moats said.

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