murder
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Appeals court addresses defendant’s request to get property back 3 years after Supreme Court laid out process
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Almost three years after the Colorado Supreme Court clarified how a convicted defendant may ask law enforcement to hand over his seized property, the state’s second-highest court found an El Paso County judge wrongly denied the man’s request to return certain items. Jurors convicted James Woo in 2018 for the murder of Julie Tureson in Colorado…
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Colorado justices weigh ‘cascade of errors’ in Arapahoe County murder trial
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There was no dispute that Terrence G. Davis died by gunshot in an Aurora alleyway in 2017. At the trial of Davis’ suspected killer, jurors reached two conclusions. First, they believed he was guilty of second-degree murder for causing Davis’ death. Second, they were asked whether the defendant used a gun. No, said the jury, he…
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Colorado justices may address whether defendants have right to review evidence when challenging convictions
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The Colorado Supreme Court signaled on Tuesday that it may decide whether defendants challenging their criminal convictions due to ineffective assistance of counsel are entitled to the evidence the prosecution already handed over before trial. An attorney representing Keevin Bell II years after his Jefferson County murder conviction was unable to obtain all the evidence…
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Appeals judge calls for investigation into law firm’s handling of potential murder weapon
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court took the extraordinary step on Thursday of calling for an investigation into the “serious ethical issues” raised by a criminal defense firm’s concealment of a potential murder weapon at its office without notifying the prosecution. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel upheld the convictions of Daniel Jesus Lopez, who is…
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Denver judge failed to let defendant speak, appeals court finds in overturning 48-year sentence
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A Denver judge did not satisfy her obligation to ensure a defendant knew he could speak on his own behalf at sentencing, Colorado’s second-highest court determined in ordering a new sentencing hearing on Thursday. Jurors convicted Joe Pinheiro of second-degree murder in 2022 for fatally shooting Philip Malinowski five years earlier. The parties disputed whether Pinheiro’s…
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Appeals court orders new murder trial for teen after judge blocked self-defense evidence
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a defendant’s murder conviction last week after concluding an Arapahoe County judge wrongly barred evidence suggesting the man acted in self-defense. There was no dispute that 18-year-old Joseph Dean McCaughin shot and killed 16-year-old Ryan Robertson in Aurora in May 2019. In the prosecution’s telling, McCaughin was jealous of Robertson, who was…
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Robert Ray’s murder convictions upheld despite numerous errors, Colorado Supreme Court rules
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant a new trial to a man convicted for orchestrating a pair of 20-year-old murders in Aurora, despite identifying numerous errors at his trial. Arapahoe County jurors convicted Robert Keith Ray for the 2005 slayings of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. He received a death sentence and…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear case about relevance of consensual bondage activity
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether evidence of a defendant’s recent plans for BDSM activity with his alleged victim was relevant to his theory that he did not intend to cause serious bodily injury. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case…
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Appeals court orders new murder trial after Denver judge gave faulty self-defense instruction
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a man’s murder conviction and life sentence on Thursday after concluding a Denver judge gave a problematic self-defense instruction to jurors, casting doubt on the verdict. Jurors delivered a split verdict, acquitting Oscar D. Villegas-Ortega of first-degree murder after deliberation, but convicting him of another murder charge as well as manslaughter and assault.…
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Appeals court says prosecutors may use evidence of defendant abusing witness to boost credibility
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that prosecutors may introduce evidence at trial of a defendant’s past abuse of a witness if it will help jurors understand why the witness may have originally lied to protect the defendant. Romando Marquis Jones and Dacey Spinuzzi are both serving prison sentences for the death of 14-month-old Aiden Seeley, who…
