There are no cameras allowed in the building and no live reporting from the courthouse. Lucas was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The prosecution asserts Kelsie was killed sometime between midnight the night of Feb. 4 and before 3 a.m. the morning of Feb. 5. A murder conviction without a body is an instance of a person being convicted of murder despite the absence of the victim's body. Doctor's records confirmed that she was eight weeks pregnant, with the presumed father being. I have to go to the doctor. No one had been charged two years after Schelling disappeared and, because authorities had not found a body, it was still classified as a missing persons case. Although some initially believed it seemed suspicious that Martinez died just before her testimony, investigators determined the shooting was completely unrelated to the trial. According to News5's Colette Bordelon, Suhr would not categorize herself as a "sex informant," which she was called by the defense. At 1:34 p.m., Lucas sends another text saying, sorry again about the loss, telling Schelling he will soon be going up to Denver to drop off her car. Our Colette Bordelon will be there every day and will have coverage both online and over the air. Im sorry for hanging up on you … I truly am. Her boss called her not that long ago and offered her her job back.. Terms of Use | Though it might have taken four years for Donthe Lucas to be arrested and charged for the murder of Kelsie Schelling in December 2017, there were a number of observations made by those who knew the couple that raised a few flags. You dont have to have a happy little family with me. So-called jailhouse snitches are often considered to be not credible as jurors often ask what that witness may have received in return for testifying. 2023 Telepictures Productions Inc. But tragically, Kelsie Schelling went missing soon after she revealed her pregnancy to her partner, Donthe Lucas. Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. Chostner says there was more evidence to work with in 2017 versus 2013, and enough that gave him the confidence to press charges. The UN and the Colonial World: International Trusteeship and Non-Self-Governing Territories; 2. A man in Pueblo reported that Lucas and his family members had attacked him in front of the Lucas family home and stolen $1,000 from him. Suhr also testified that Lucas would break down and cry whenever he talked about Schelling he had nothing to do with her disappearance. Using cell phone data from Lucas and Schellings phones, the prosecution believes both phones were in the same location as the texts were being exchanged. Pueblo Police Capt. The lead investigator on the case from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation believes Schelling was strangled by Lucas after he lured her down to Pueblo. The person you may send to pick up the cash at a particular location may know nothing about what the scam is.. Donthe took that away from me.. First published on March 8, 2021 / 11:59 PM. Schelling's body has never been found, but she is presumed dead. 21-year-old Kelsie Schelling was two months pregnant when she drove from Denver to Pueblo to see her former boyfriend Donthe Lucas. Binet said yes, but noted while an individual wanting to disappear might try not to leave a trail, they are most often not very successful.. At 11:14 p.m., he changes plans and tells Schelling to meet him, where you usually do, seemingly referring to an intersection near his grandmothers home where Schelling had picked him up on previous occasions. Michelle Chostner prosecuted the case alongside senior prosecutor Kyle McCarthy, and Alex Baker, an Assistant Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney Generals Office. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website. Ryan Rivera said that Lucas once told him while they were about to play a game of cards that investigators would never find Schelling's body. Kelsey Ann Smith (May 3, 1989 - June 2, 2007) was an Overland Park, Kansas teenager who disappeared on June 2, 2007 and was murdered that evening. Donthe Isiah Lucas pleaded not guilty to the charge against him in 2018. For Lauras part, the case doesnt end with the verdict. She was reportedly on her way from Denver to Pueblo to discuss the pregnancy with Lucas. If the offender is used to having the victim take care of them and be focused on them and dancing around to be sure the offender is doing OK, if now, suddenly, thats not happening, that can lead to an escalation, Walker said. Schelling tells Lucas, Im not going to come get you so we can fight all day., He responds: I dont want to fight at all I want to give you this.. A Kelsie Schelling opust domov a u se nikdy nevrt lo o hroznou nehodu, nebo nco dsivjho? If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. The burden of proof is on the government, former Pueblo public defender Lisa Wayne told 20/20. So it's simply messaging in a very strong way to the jury, They haven't done it. Prosecutors told jurors, "This is not a missing persons case it is a homicide case," before saying that they are certain they'll be able to prove she was killed. The defense argued it was a missing persons case. In August of 1995, a local film crew in Arlington, Texas was doing a documentary on single mothers in welfare trying to get jobs. Lucas said Schelling then dropped him off at his house and left. PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Years after Donthe Lucas' arrest following the disappearance of his pregnant girlfriend, Kelsie Schelling, jurors are hearing the case against him in court Wednesday.Lucas is accused of killing Schelling and has been charged with first-degree murder. He also told Suhr that a man he did not know picked Schelling up the last time he saw her. Without a crime scene, murder weapon or body, how could the jury be convinced this was murder, and that Lucas was responsible? The jury found Lucas guilty of first-degree murder in a verdict that was delivered just after 4 p.m. Monday. And even if it's not the answer I wanted, the community heard it and they know what happened., The jury reached a unanimous decision on their first vote, a juror later revealed to 20/20.. The homicide trial of Donthe Lucas, accused of first-degree murder in the 2013 disappearance of his pregnant girlfriend, Kelsie Schelling, resumed Monday with the testimony of Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Kevin Torres. 13M subscribers Kelsie Schelling goes to see boyfriend, never seen again: Part 3 Schelling left work and headed to Pueblo, Colorado, where her boyfriend Donthe Lucas asked her to meet. He said he wouldnt be surprised if she was out in California already or was on her way there. Schelling goes to work that evening and she and Lucas continue to argue over text. Saxton said she asked him to track the number and that he said he would, but, of course, he never did, Saxton said. But Lucas claimed when they spoke later, Schelling ended up telling me shes not pregnant. Four days passed after Schelling drove to Pueblo on the night of Feb. 4. Saxton also pleaded with police to not stop searching for her daughter's body, so she can have a proper burial. Colette Bordelon also spoke to Martinez's cousin, who said he believes her murder does have to do with the trial. Opening statements were set to begin just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, and. Even though Kelsies remains have never been found, shes long since accepted her daughters death. Obviously it's an important piece of evidence that he moved the car because it shows he's covering up the crime. When all this got combined with Donthes former home catching fire just weeks after officers searched it for evidence, he was charged and arrested for his former girlfriends mysterious murder. Oh my god, Torres said Sara Lucas replied. Schelling's family has set up a website called HelpFindKelsie.com and are reportedly offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. I deliberated on it and I looked at the practicalities of it, Chostner said. Donthe Lucas was charged with killing his 21-year-old girlfriend, Kelsie Schelling, who was pregnant at the time. I felt like he did genuinely develop feelings for me and did genuinely fall in love with me. [That was] where he seemingly intended to board a flight to Tucson, and the concern was once he got to Arizona that he may take other efforts to meet friends in Mexico.. The defense pushed a narrative that Schelling was addicted to drugs. Though Schellings family got the verdict they wanted, they were still unable to bring her home for a proper burial. This led them to believe Lucas had murdered Schelling, and disposed of her body there, though her remains have never been found. She reached out to a private investigator, but they were also stonewalled by PPD. Kelsie Schelling with her mom Laura Saxton. She also informed us that Donthe admitted to her to being the one on the video dropping Kelsie's car off at [the] hospital.. While this text was being sent, Torres said Schellings phone was pinging off of a cell tower within the area of Canon National Bank, where Donthe Lucas was seen on camera withdrawing $400 from Schellings bank account while driving her 2011 Chevy Cruze. Geo resource failed to load. But soon, Kelsie started confiding in her friends that her boyfriend was physically abusive and exhibited other toxic behavioral traits. Schelling was eight weeks pregnant when her friends and family last heard from her on February 4, 2013, when [] PUEBLO, Colo. CBI Investigator Kevin Torres remembers it like yesterday. Deputy District Attorney Kyle McCarthy then skipped ahead to the communications exchanged the following day and asked Torres to read from texts that allegedly were exchanged between Donthe Lucas and his mother, Sara Lucas. However, 20/20 learned that in March 2013, a woman named Roxann Wilkins reached out to Schellings mother through the Facebook page, saying she used to date Lucas and he had confessed to her that he killed Schelling and where her body was. An officer stated that they believed Donthe strangled Kelsie. While in custody, Lucas admitted to police that he picked up Schellings car and dropped it off at the hospital. They alleged that when she left Lucas at the Walmart, she was going to meet up with a drug dealer. Police found surveillance video showing Lucas driving her car at an ATM 12 hours after Schelling arrived in Pueblo. Dateline's new documentary series "The Last Day" premiered this week with an episode about the killing of 20-year-old Iowan Mollie Tibbetts. Its getting harder to come back, I dread the trips but I know I have to do it, she said. Laura Saxton Her last confirmed text message was sent to Lucas at 11:18 p.m. Family photo. The 21-year-old from Colorado had already announced to family and friends. After their talk, he said, he believed Schelling left town. He said Lucas confessed to the killing. Police could not definitively say he was Lucas. Lately shes been like threatening to leave to California. Then, at 11:10 p.m., he told her to go to another location near his grandmothers house. Sinnema said Lucas told him that he and Schelling went to Parkview Medical Center later that day and that Schelling emerged from the hospital a short time later saying she was no longer pregnant. So, lets find out more about where he is today, shall we? I mean, I could barely function.. Sinnema said he spoke to Lucas that evening and Lucas told him Schelling had come to see him in the early morning hours of Feb. 5. On 4 February, Kelsie got confirmation of her pregnancy from her doctor and sent the scan pictures to Lucas. Initially, their relationship seemed idyllic. I'm never going to recover without getting her back, Saxton said. Born February 18, 1991, the 21-year-old from Denver, Colorado, was eight weeks pregnant when she decided to visit her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, at the Home of Heroes in Pueblo. The defense also had Walker confirm that she could not tell the jury whether the trends she discussed were present in Lucas and Schellings relationship and could not say if any specific acts of domestic violence took place between them. The argument between Schelling and Lucas, according to the exchanged texts as recounted by Torres, continued into the early morning hours of Feb. 4. Prosecutors told jurors that Lucas was trying to get Schelling to Pueblo and sent her a text message saying he had a surprise for her. In partnership with While in jail for this offense, Lucas told an inmate about his involvement with Kelsie Schelling, saying no one would ever find her body (via KRDO). I had information that Donthe was leaving Pueblo with members of his family and was heading to [Denver International Airport], Pueblo County District Attorney Jeff Chostner said. I knew once her car was found that something horrible had happened, because there's just no way that she would've gone somewhere and left her car, Saxton said. Eric Bravo took over the case with the help of Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agent Kevin Torres. Documentary films The Invention of Marxism: How an Idea Changed Everything Christina Morina (Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Bielefeld University) . According to Lucas' account,the couple drank alcohol together and used marijuana and cocaine that night, the latter of which Lucas alleged was a surprise gift to Schelling. The website gives the following. Hours later she vanished. We did not have a body that would've told us location No modus operandi of how she died. Though it was likely frustrating and painful for Kelsies family, he believes it led to a successful conviction. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. It said, "Where are you? -- It's been over eight years since Laura Saxton's 21-year-old pregnant daughter Kelsie Schelling vanished. Lucas claimed he and Schelling then went to the South Side Walmart so Schelling could grab some snacks before driving back to Denver. PUEBLO The Pueblo murder trial of Donthe Lucas, who is accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend 21-year-old Kelsie Schelling in 2013, continued Wednesday following testimony from various experts on evidence found in her vehicle. Love you, Sara Lucas said. No one.. Ryan Rivera, a former Pueblo County Jail inmate and a friend of Lucas, also testified. The clip that I played at the beginning of my closing was his phrase to detectives. I love you very much and you know it. Donthe Lucas (credit: Pueblo Police Dept. In late 2017, there was another huge development. Schelling,. Kelsie Schelling was over the moon. Ad Choices, Benjamin Satterthwaite; Kelsie Schelling; Donthe Lucas, Criminal defense attorney Danielle Iredale, Body parts found in suitcases, luggage tags lead to suspected killer; Kelsie Schelling update - TCDPOD. KOAA News5 on your time, streaming on your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and AndroidTV. He said Schelling wanted a relationship but thats not what he wanted. Torres detailed a text from Lucas to Schelling just before noon that said, Um, yeah you can if you werent scared to get fired. You ready for a smoke and a pancake?, Hell yeah. Lucas was arrested on Feb. 15, 2013 for felony identity theft for using Schellings debit card. If She regularly made the 220-mile drive from her home in rural Yuma, Colorado, to Pueblo. In February 2013, Kelsie Schelling was very happy to find out she was eight weeks pregnant, according to ABC News. OK. Schelling, and Hegel. Lucas pleaded not guilty to the murder charges in August 2018, and the judge set a trial date for 2019. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? He testified to various tests he ran on around 45 items of evidence. Just wait and see for yourself, you probably wouldnt believe me if I told you anyway, so you can see for yourself.. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. It is still an open case. They found out that hed withdrawn $400 from her bank account. Schelling tells Lucas at 11:21 a.m. that shes finished her appointment. Feb. 4, 2013, was the last time Schelling was seen. Warner Bros. Entertainment | On the day she reportedly disappeared, GPS on her phone showed it traveled to the same location in Pueblo as Lucas' phone. We're working on getting clarification on that issue. Authorities reviewed that admission, along with text message records, surveillance video and 60,000 pages of investigative material to determine whether there was enough evidence to prosecute Lucas. Her body has never been found. Follow below: 4 p.m.: In a bombshell revelation, prosecutors called a former Pueblo County Jail inmate who claims that Donthe Lucas said investigators would never find Kelsie Schelling's body. On Feb. 25, 2021, 31-year-old Roxann Martinez was preparing to testify for the prosecution when she was shot and killed. Sara Lucas says she only met her son's girlfriend. Colorado Bureau of Investigation's Forensic Scientist Collin Knaub takes the stand next and has worked for CBI since 2010. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) -Donthe Lucas was found guilty of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend Kelsie Schelling in 2013. Their lock to their front gate into the dump had been tampered with., It caught my attention when I grabbed the lock in my hand, and I said, Well, somebody tried to get in here overnight, Guadalupe Maestas, a worker at the landfill, told 20/20. Thats what came to my mind right away.. After Torres, the prosecution called to the stand Jennifer Walker, the executive director of the Crisis Center a nonprofit organization in Douglas County that address domestic violence. The defenses strategy, though, was to contend how this case was the biggest stretch in Colorado history as there was no body, no crime scene, and no DNA evidence against Donthe. OK. Goodnight., Torres said Lucas replied, Oh I know all of that … thanks for stating it for me.. Kelsie Schelling was only 21 years old when she vanished. In December 2017, investigators believed they finally had enough evidence to charge Lucas with the first-degree murder of Schelling, even though her remains have, as of this report, not been recovered. Schelling's body hasn't been found.Opening statements were set to begin just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, and KRDO's Dan Beedie is in the courtroom gathering information as the trial takes place. It was years before he went to trial for Schellings murder. Lucas told Binet he and Schelling had not been on the best terms in recent months, as they wanted different things. Schelling left work shortly after 8:40 p.m. and drove two hours to see Lucas in Pueblo. Eight years after his girlfriend went missing, a Colorado man has been convicted of first-degree murder in her death. Lucas said that he would help support the baby, according to Saxton. Laura Saxton fought tirelessly for justice in the case of her missing pregnant daughter. No blood was detected in #Schelling's car. Cadry -- that was the name she was going to give the child, Colby Schelling said. Lucas and Schelling seem to allude to a trip Lucas was planning on taking that day, seemingly to Kansas, on which he asked Schelling to accompany him. Lucas also told police that he and Schelling went to the Walmart to get snacks before she made the drive back to Denver. However, even when the two moved away to pursue their respective careers, they continued dating up until the moment Kelsie disappeared. In a motion filed by Lucas, he claims the victim's father had a history of violence toward Kelsie and killed . Updated June 10, 2022 ABC's '20/20: Kelsie Schelling,' as the title suggests, is an episode that chronicles the 2013 disappearance and murder of 21-year-old Kelsie Schelling from Denver, Colorado. He believes her murder does have to do with the #DontheLucas trial, even though Denver police have said they believe there's no connection. I moved the car, Chostner said. Youre good. Once the money was exchanged, then this courier person would go and get Kelsie and bring her back to the McDonalds, Saxton said of the instructions she received. Now that she is gone, Ive had to turn into a fighter, Saxton told 20/20.. She said based on her evaluation, Schelling was, in fact, pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Her family also received a message from someone who claimed to know where Lancaster was. After a few weeks, they met in person. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Please enter valid email address to continue. In cross-examination, Lucas attorneys sought to discredit Walkers testimony by pointing out she has testified for prosecutorial bodies about trends in domestic violence more than 75 times in the past, and only testified on behalf of the defense in one prior case. Dont worry. Schelling disappeared almost six years ago when she was heading to see Lucas in Pueblo. I miss all the things that we didn't get to do together., 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Sinnema testified that Lucas never mentioned: leaving Schellings vehicle at Walmart; meeting Schelling on a side-street of his grandmothers home; Schelling staying in his home that night on Manor Ridge Drive; or using Schellings debit card. Roxann Martinez was shot and killed at the intersection of E. Kenyon Dr. and S. Wabash St. at 11 p.m. on Feb 25. Romantic interest of Lucas' retakes stand: Lauren Suhr, who now lives in Washington but lived in Colorado Springs in April 2016, took the stand virtually again Wednesday morning. On Monday, he was sentenced to life in prison. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Saxton said she told Lucas that she didn't care if they were together or apart, but she told him "there is a child involved now." Just had to make sure I was right. Johnston also uses iek's combination of . Saxton said she remembered asking investigators if these items were in the vehicle when it was recovered and she was told they were not. He asks her to skip work and come to Pueblo to get him and they continue to argue. Saxton said the messenger told her Lucas had sold her daughter into sex trafficking. Then you can take her back home., Sara Lucas allegedly responded: What happened? and, Are you OK? to which Lucas responded, Yeah. Kelsie Schelling's childhood rocked with emotional fallout from family split: Part 1Schelling's parents got divorced and she lived with her mother, Laura Sax. Lucas, according to Torres recap of the text exchange, replied, Cool, then said he wished Schelling didnt have to work that evening. I told you Id give you everything you need when you get here so u dont need that job.. Since meeting in 2010 as students at a junior college in Colorado, Kelsie Schelling and Donthe Lucas purportedly had a fraught relationship, one which allegedly turned abusive on the part of Lucas, according to Schelling's friends and relatives (via Fox 21 News). Then, prosecutors played Lucas interrogation tape for the jury. The trial was then scheduled for July 2019, but Lucas' lawyers said they had new scientific evidence and needed more time to review it. She said she feels some relief that Lucas won't be out on the street to manipulate any more women., Saxton hopes that people remember Kelsie Schelling as a little girl with a really big heart, a really big smile, a really big laugh, beautiful eyes, [and a] lover of animals, lover of children. In December 2019, the judge postponed the trial until May 2020, as a new lawyer joined the defense team. I would like to have known what she finally settled on as a career, if she ever would've got married, had more kids, all those things, Saxton said. But I guess the relief I had knowing that it was a quick verdict, was that even if it didn't come out in our favor, this question has been decided for the community. Torres, continuing his testimony from Friday, began the fourth day of the trial by detailing alleged text exchanges between Lucas and Schelling on the night of Feb. 3 and the day of her disappearance Feb. 4, breaking them down minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour as the conversation unfolded. Emails the messenger had sent proved to be untraceable and an FBI analysis of their Facebook page revealed they used an IP address in Russia. Asked by Binet if he had any idea where Schelling might be, Lucas replied, Shes been saying shes going to go back to California and get her job and get back with her ex-boyfriend.. DENVER - A Pueblo County jury found Donthe Lucas guilty Monday of first-degree murder in the 2013 death of his girlfriend, Kelsie Schelling, after just a few hours of deliberations. His book charts the interlinked ontology and theory of subjectivity constructed by iek at the intersection of German idealism and Lacanian theory. Former FBI agent and ABC News contributor Brad Garrett said Marcus story aligns with how many other scams work. Disturbing Details About Kelsie Schelling's Partner And Murderer, Donthe Lucas. However, due to technical difficulties, nobody in the public or the reporters pool could see or hear what was said or asked. Criminal defense attorney Danielle Iredale joins host Ana Garcia. I didn't want to get in any deeper than I had already gotten into.. More women ice fishing? Plus, a baggage claim sticker leads to an arrest after human remains were found in two suitcases on the side of a Denver road in December (30:07). That's just 100% clarification that some dirt bags out there are trying to get money off of these poor families.. Sinnema said Lucas also did not mention dropping Schellings vehicle off at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center on Feb. 7. The. She said she first reached out to him on Facebook and they exchanged numbers. As a mom, I couldnt even begin to fathom knowing that your childs out there or not out there, Suhr told 20/20 in an exclusive interview. Before 6 p.m., Torres said Schelling texted Lucas, Then step up and make a relationship with me work. Walker said domestic violence, broadly speaking, addresses patterns of coercive control where one person in a relationship maintains power over the other. You can use the money and fill the car up…. Saxton still doesn't have all the answers she's searched tirelessly for. (1) 2021 TV-14. The white stain in #Schelling's car was negative for saliva. There was no sign of her in the apartment, and that's when we called the Denver police.. I felt like I was [in] pretty deep. Read More: Where is Kelsie Schellings Mother Now? From the. Forget Im pregnant, seriously., Just before 3 a.m., according to Torres testimony, Schelling texted Lucas, You dont have to be in a relationship with me. Love you Donthe.. Tate testified that after her appointment concluded, Schelling scheduled her follow-up appointment for March 4, 2013, but never showed up. I felt like I got to see a side of him that maybe most people didnt, she said. At 11:29 a.m. on Feb. 5, Torres said Lucas texted his mother, Going to make sure she didnt leave anything in the house. If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Prosecutors said he also admitted to that in 2017. I just thought, What if shes been out there and I couldve found her and we havent?. Later, when Schelling's car was recovered, Lucas' DNA and a strand of his mother's hair were discovered inside. The jury convicted Lucas after approximately four hours of deliberation. That's direct evidence..