Melendez Torres receives two life sentences
A man found guilty of a double homicide by a jury of his peers in July has been sentenced.
Miguel Angel Melendez Torres, 29, was convicted of the murders of two area residents, Krystle Buhl and Richard McMahan, on May 29, 2021, in Branson. Melendez Torres was found guilty on the following charges: two charges of second-degree murder, two charges of armed criminal action, and two charges of first-degree attempted robbery in connection with the shooting deaths of Buhl and McMahan. Two life sentences and an additional 60 years, 15 years each for the other four charges, were handed down on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. All sentences are to run consecutively.
He was found guilty of shooting 38-year-old Buhl and 39-year-old McMahan outside the Famous Dave’s restaurant, located on West 76 Country Boulevard. Investigators claimed Melendez-Torres approached the pair after they had finished work, demanded money and then shot both in the head after they refused to give him money.
This was the second trial for the charges. The first was in Jan. of 2026 and ended in a deadlock after four days of deliberations.
Melendez Torres was returned to the Taney County Jail after sentencing and now awaits transportation to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
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