- Today's video is
brought to you by Current. Check it out at current.com/kendallrae. (gentle music) Hello, everyone, and
welcome back to my channel. So happy to have you here
with me for another video. If you are new, welcome. So with every case I cover, there are always some of you
out there who are local to it. And I know how interesting it can be when you can relate to a case in that way. When you recognize some of the locations, just kinda the general vibe
for where it takes place. It's a little bit more interesting when it happens in your own backyard. And so, today, I wanted to cover
a case that is local to me. This takes place in Greeley, Colorado, which I actually have lived in Greeley for a short time in my life. Greeley, man, what a place. "South Park" has referred to Greeley as the opposite of Hawaii. - Jesus, this is a long drive. Are we in Hawaii yet? - Hawaii? Your foster home is here. Pretty much the exact opposite of Hawaii. - What? Greeley? - Greeley is really known
for its agricultural land, but anyone who lives
there, or has been there, or even lives in these surrounding areas, knows that it's also known for its odor. Actually, people who live in Denver can detect when a winter
storm is about to hit because winds traveling south from Greeley bring a distinctive manure smell. But even though Greeley, which I used to actually call Greality, isn't the best city in the whole world, it is near and dear to my heart. Has a special place for me. And I found this case
to be really interesting just because I could relate
to it a little bit more. I've been to most of the places
that we will be mentioning as we go through this. And I really hope you guys find this one as interesting as I did. These types of cases, where people are driven to
extremes due to jealousy, are always very interesting to me. And so, I hope you guys find this one as interesting as I did. Let's go ahead and jump in here. We're gonna start by talking
about Heather Lynn Hodges. She was born on February 8th,
1969 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. She and her sister, Wendy, were raised by their
parents, William and Linda, and they spent a lot of their childhood in the greater Boulder area. And those who knew her say that
she was a very kind person, a very warm person. She was outgoing, and generally cared about
helping other people around her. Her sister said that she was
always a friend to everybody. Heather attended the University
of Northern Colorado, and that is where she
met her future husband, Ignacio Garraus. Ignacio says that it was
just love at first sight for the two of them. They got married on July
27th, 1991 in Northglenn, which is a city just
outside of Denver, Colorado. I've also lived there. But the two of them ended
up settling in Greeley and starting careers there. Ignacio worked as an undercover cop, and this actually brought
Heather a lot of anxiety, which I think is pretty understandable. Being with a partner who
is in law enforcement, or the fire department, or military, anything that has some
degree of risk to it, I think could cause a lot of anxiety. She was just always worried
about her husband's safety while he was at work. In 1993, Heather got a job as a teller at the Colorado State
Employees Credit Union at the Hillside Shopping Center. And when she worked there, she was well-liked and respected
by her fellow employees. So in 1997, after Heather and Ignacio
were married for six years, they ended up having their first baby, a daughter named Victoria. And Heather truly loved being
a mother more than anything. She was extremely devoted to her daughter, and people who knew their family said that Heather was
just born to be a mom. And for the next several years, the Garraus family was fairly happy. Heather and Ignacio were
still very much in love, and they were hopeful about their future. But 2003 came along and that
was a very hard year for them, especially for Heather. Not long after her
father died unexpectedly from a heart attack, her mother also passed away from cancer. And, understandably, all of this loss really sent
Heather into a depression. And that, in turn, ended
up affecting her marriage. People around them said
that she and Ignacio just weren't the same
couple that they used to be. Heather became very distant, and was experiencing a
lot of anxiety attacks, which is understandable
after losing her parents in such a short period
of time so suddenly. Ignacio said that during this time, he felt neglected, he felt unloved, and he felt angry about this all the time. And he said their
marriage really hit bottom after intimacy stopped. Heather had also started
taking antidepressants, and anyone who has experienced
a mental health crisis, or has taken antidepressants knows that sometimes it really can
affect your life in huge ways. And it can make a huge difference when it comes to your
sex life, unfortunately. Obviously, a good understanding partner, would help you work through that time. And, obviously, Heather had hope that Ignacio would be patient, and wait for her, give her that time. And Ignacio knew that if
he ever cheated on Heather, she would leave him. And he knew this because
she actually told him that several times. So for a while, he remained
faithful to Heather. That is, up until 2004, when he met a woman named Shawna Nelson, which, keep in mind, she started experiencing
all of this loss in 2003. He couldn't even get to 2005, before he was already moving on, and having an affair. So Shawna was a fellow police
dispatcher for Weld County, that's where Greeley is located. And when the two of them met, Weld County and Greeley were consolidating their 911 operations. - I believe I met him almost immediately when the city of Greeley and Weld County Regional
Communications merged. Most of the Greeley
officers were coming in and introducing themselves to
all of the new dispatchers, and that's when I originally had met him. - So let's talk a little
bit more about Shawna. Shawna Louise Buntz was born in 1973, and spent her entire
life living in Greeley. She was raised by her aunt, and she was actually told
that her aunt was her mother for a very long time. And her real mother who was
pretending to be her aunt, said she couldn't take care of her, and handed her off to her sister. So anyway, in 1992, Shawna becomes a
dispatcher for Weld County. And on the same day she
started her training, she also met this woman named Michelle. She and Michelle were
both hired as dispatchers. And according to Shawna, the
two of them socialized at work, but never outside of work. And they were friendly with each other, until a rift occurred between them when Shawna suspected that Michelle was having an affair
with her husband, Chris. This was her first husband. She eventually met her second husband at her job as a dispatcher, and his name is Ken Nelson. Ken was a Sheriff's deputy at the time. And in 1995, after Shawna's divorce from
her first husband went through, the two of them started dating. Just a year later, the
two of them got married, and they ended up having two kids. Now, Shawna's reputation at work wasn't necessarily the greatest. Shawna was known for
cheating on her husband. And this was no secret at work. Even though Ken himself, who
worked at the same department, seemed to be unaware of his
wife cheating on him constantly. Shawna's supervisor said that whenever she would have an affair, she would get very protective, and a little obsessive over that person, and she would end up just
hating their partner. She would have very hostile things to say about these people's partners. And her coworkers all
knew this was going on because she would talk openly about it. It's also been reported
that, at one point, Shawna figured out that Ken
was having an affair on her, and she contacted this woman that he was having an affair with, and threatened to kill her dogs. And so, as you probably guessed, she ends up having an
affair with Ignacio Garraus, and this anger and hostility was definitely a factor
in this relationship. Their affair started when
their two departments merged, and Shawna would answer
dispatch calls from Ignacio. - I would say the spring of 2004, we just started flirting
over the terminals. We could do a
terminal-to-terminal message. Him being in his police
car, me being in dispatch. It kinda got a little flirty. I noticed that he was coming in more, giving me more specific attention. So I, in turn, gave it back, and that's how it started. - And their affair really picked up speed when they started meeting up at Starbucks, and their flirting turned
into very deep talking. Eventually, things got more serious, and they became intimate for
the first time in July of 2004. And Ignacio says he felt
guilty for cheating on Heather from the moment that this affair started. But that guilt wasn't
enough for him to stop, or maybe be honest with her, and see if they could work through it. Nope. He decided that since they
already soiled their marriage, he might as well just go
full fledge into this affair. So he continues sleeping with Shawna. And Shawna is sleeping
with other people too. Ignacio isn't the only one that
she's having an affair with. In August of 2004, just one
month after she and Ignacio had sex for the first time, she claims to have gotten
in an intimate relationship with her friend and fellow coworker, who I mentioned earlier, Michelle. Now, Ignacio was not aware of
her relationship with Michelle because he had some bigger
concerns on his mind. He said that there was a
shift in Shawna's behavior three months into their affair. She started to take it really seriously, and started telling
him that she loves him, that he's the one, even though he said he was
continually telling her that he wasn't going to leave Heather, and that really upset Shawna. And Ignacio said that she, at that point, became obsessed with him, and would blackmail him
with the whole affair, threaten to tell Heather unless
he was quote, "a good boy." And I mean, Shawna knew that
Heather would leave Ignacio if she found out. And so, she used this
as a threat against him, actually to get him to
have sex with her more. - [Ignacio] She's psychotic. And I'm just as guilty being involved, but I was scared of her because I thought she
was gonna tell my wife. She held me hostage. - Ignacio says that he
frequently thought about ways that he could end the relationship, but he knew that Shawna
would react very poorly. He said that he started feeling trapped. He was stuck in this situation. If he stopped having
the affair with Shawna, Heather would find out. And continuing it wasn't
enjoyable for him anymore, and he felt very guilty. So, he was in a bad situation. Plus it didn't make it any easier that the two of them worked together. And because of her job as a dispatcher, she had access to his
location at all times when he was on duty, and she could use that information
to pressure him into sex whenever she knew he wasn't with his wife. At one point, Ignacio said he even tried
changing his phone number so she couldn't reach him as easily. But, of course, his job required them to have files of their
personal contact information, so she was always able to
figure out how to reach him. And it got so bad, that if Heather and Ignacio
were ever out for dinner, even with their kids, Shawna would figure out where they were, and just show up with her husband, Ken, and often would sit just a
few tables away from them. So, not too long into their affair, Shawna actually finds
out that she's pregnant. And the night that she found
out that she was pregnant, there was actually a retirement party that the police department
was throwing at Old Chicago's for a fellow officer. And Old Chicago was quite the hotspot when I lived in Greeley. I actually spent my 21st birthday there. Couldn't really go out
and do anything else because I had a test the next day, so I got hammered at an Old C's. So anyway, they're all at Old Chicago's for this retirement party, and Shawna decides it's a
good night to tell Ignacio that she is pregnant. She said she had a plan
to tell him that night, and that the two of
them were going to leave the event together, but her plan changed when she
saw him leave without her. - I had found out I was pregnant, and I wanted to talk to
him about it. (sniffing) - [Interviewer] Did you, at some point, learn that he had left the party? - Yes, I did. - [Interviewer] And do you recall how you've learned that information? - Actually, he walked right past me. He completely disregarded me, and walked past me with Michelle Bush, and got in Fred's bud's car and left. - [Kendall] And Shawna admits that she was heavily drinking that night. And later that evening, when she saw Michelle
was back at the party, she went back inside, and told her she was
going to kick her ass. - I had been outside, and when I came back around, I noticed that she was
inside through the window. And I decided that I
wanted to confront her about this whole situation with Ig. My intentions weren't to kick her ass, from what everybody's
saying that's what I said. - [Interviewer] Did you say that? - I was very drunk that night. Everybody says that that's what I said. - [Interviewer] Do you
deny that you said that? - No, I don't deny it. - So it ended up being two days later that she was finally able to tell Ignacio that she was pregnant with his child, even though she had told him
she was on birth control. - I had told him that I was extremely
upset with his behavior, that I thought that we had had plans to talk after the party, that there was something that I really needed to talk to him about, and I didn't appreciate being disrespected the way that he did. If he didn't wanna be with me,
all he had to do was tell me. - [Interviewer] Did you, at some point, discuss your pregnancy? (clearing throat) - I did. - [Interviewer] When did that occur? - I believe it was that same day. - And what was discussed
about the pregnancy? - Almost the very first
thing out of Ig's mouth was we need to take care of this. - And according to Ignacio, Shawna would not allow
him to use protection. And she said that if he used a condom, she would tell his wife about the affair. So Shawna tells him she's pregnant, and according to her, he
wants her to get an abortion even though she wants to keep the baby. Reluctantly, she agreed
to go forward with it. And before she had the procedure done, a fellow officer actually told Heather, Shawna was pregnant
with her husband's baby. But when Shawna found out that Heather had caught
wind of this, she calls her, and she tells her that the
two of them are only friends, and not to believe the rumors. This is obviously a lie, but
she admits to doing it anyway. - Pretty much I told her that
Ig and I were just friends. I told her that I knew that Ig loved her, and that I would never do anything to stand in the way of that. And I hope that she
didn't believe the rumors that she was hearing. - And Shawna said that shortly after this, they go to Planned
Parenthood in Fort Collins, and have an abortion. And it was around the same
time that Ken figured out that Shawna was cheating on him. And, apparently, he found out because she had written
it down in her journal, and just left it out in the open. And this journal detailed everything that Ignacio and Shawna did together. - I had been out with
my niece's, shopping, and I had gotten off work early that day, and just thrown all my work
stuff down on the counter, and there was a journal
about me and Ig's complete, everything. Our entire relationship. It was never meant to be left there intentionally for Ken to read, but he did read it, and he called me and
confronted me about it. - So once he found out about the affair, Ken gives Shawna two choices: she can either end the affair with Ignacio and try to work things out with him; or go be with Ignacio. And, at first, she said that she wanted to work out their issues, and she would end the affair with Ignacio. But that ended up not being the case. She continued the affair with Ignacio, and about a month later, her and Ken end up getting divorced. So then Shawna ends up
getting pregnant again with Ignacio's baby. This is July 4th, 2005. So Shawna ends up calling Ken to tell him that she is
pregnant with Ignacio's baby. And he had a very surprising reaction. He ends up to raise
this child as their own, and wants to get back
together with Shawna. - My recollection, I think Ken said that, we were face to face, but I actually called him crying, and told him that I was pregnant, and that Ig wanted me to
have another abortion, and I wouldn't do it, and I just wanted him to know, I didn't expect anything of Ken, but I wanted to give him a heads up, because it was a little embarrassing. - [Interviewer] What was Ken's response? - Ken actually was glad that
I wouldn't have an abortion. And he said that we
would get back together and try our marriage again, and that instead of two kids,
we would just have three. - [Interviewer] Did you get
back together with Ken Nelson? - We did.
- And Shawna agrees to this, and says she wants to
work on things with him, and raise this baby with him. But what Ken didn't know is that Shawna continues
her affair with Ignacio, and continues an affair with Michelle. And around this time, she
even ends up getting a tattoo of Ignacio's family name on her leg. But, anyway, Ken ends up
withdrawing their divorce petition in 2005, August of 2005. And then in spring of 2006,
they move back in together. And in March, Shawna gives
birth to Ignacio's baby, even though she's now moving back in with her ex-husband Ken. I know this is getting a little confusing. Now, meanwhile, Heather still isn't aware that her husband, Ignacio,
is having an affair. And she has been told by Shawna that the rumor that she has heard about them having an affair, is not true. But her sister and best friend say that she definitely had suspicions that he was cheating on her. And there ended up
being four or five times where Shawna would
harass Heather in public. - She'd be in the store and
Shawna would walk by her, and point at her and laugh, or call her a pig or
something to that effect. She felt something else was going on, but she wasn't sure what it was. And she wasn't the type to lay blame or accuse unless she knew for sure. - Her best friend, Jayme,
said that Heather would ask, "Why is this happening to me?" And Jayme says that she believes Heather had an idea of what was going on, but didn't want to believe it. She wanted to believe
that she was just jealous, and that's why she was harassing her. And when Shawna would harass Heather, she would often have her
friend, Michelle, with her. Michelle remembers that Shawna would frequently
talk about Heather being in her way of a real
relationship with Ignacio. And it was getting to
a very unhealthy point. Even Shawna's supervisor at work says that she would go to the gun range, and pretend that Heather was the target. So in summer of 2006, remember the baby was born in March, 2006, someone approaches Heather, and tells her that Ignacio was
the father of Shawna's baby. But when Heather asked Ignacio about it, he denied it entirely. So it ended up not being
until December 16th, 2006, when Heather finally learned that her husband really
was having an affair. One night, Heather woke up, and Ignacio was not in bed beside her. Instead, he was out at a
bar called Cactus Canyon with Shawna and Michelle. And when he was at the bar, he got a call from Heather
asking where he was, and he had been drinking, so he asked a fellow police
officer to take him home. And when he got back, something must have just hit him, or maybe it was the alcohol, but he decides that that
is the time to tell Heather that he has been having this affair, and that he is the
father of Shawna's baby. And just like she said she
would, Heather left him. But only for one day. She was actually willing
to give him another chance. But only if he did three things. Number one, get an STD test. Number two, seek out a counselor
and get psychiatric help. Three, he would have to
break things off with Shawna, and for good. Ignacio, I think, was pretty surprised that she was willing to
give him a second chance, so he followed her wishes, and he really ended up getting his way because now he could break
things off with Shawna without her blackmailing
him into staying with her because Heather already knew, and she was willing to stay with him. And Heather stood right next
to him while he called Shawna and broke things off. - [Ignacio] I called
Shawna in front of Heather. Told Shawna we're through,
I'm gonna stay with my wife. Don't contact me. Don't bother my family. - And Shawna, obviously, was upset. And her response to this was to send Heather a picture
of their son, Christian, and say, "Ig's flesh and blood." But Shawna tells the story of
the night that they broke up a little differently. She says that when the three of them were at Cactus Canyon that night, she noticed Ignacio
was nowhere to be seen. She was upset with his behavior. And according to her, she called him to end their relationship. She says that she told Ignacio
she was tired of the drama. The following day, December 17th, 2006, Shawna and Ignacio meet
up, according to her. He explains that he had
confessed everything to Heather, and that he would only now be pursuing a relationship with her. But she claims her response
to that was to encourage him to work things out with Heather. Even though the next day, she sent him a text message that said, "My loyalty is gone. I loved you and trusted
you and you fucked me. Be prepared." And Shawna says that she sent this message because she was upset at Ignacio for wanting nothing to
do with their child. - Because I was angry that Ig would abandon Christian like that. Just in a sentence, say, "Okay, see ya. Don't care about your son. Bye." - But she says she realized
that this sounded bad, and so she called him to clarify. - After I sent it, I thought,
"Wow, that sounds bad." So that's when I called their house, and left that other voicemail
that you guys had heard, that said, "You know, if you
guys think you don't have money or whatever, you're gonna pay." And that's how I meant it. I meant that I was gonna take
them and get an attorney, and have Ig financially
still pay for Christian. - That same day, December 18th, Shawna pays a visit to Heather at the Credit Union where she worked. She said that she went
there to close her account because she didn't wanna
get in their way anymore. So, in an attempt to
repair their relationship, Ignacio, Heather, and
their daughter, Victoria, all take a trip to
Florida for the holidays. They're hoping to move on, that things are completely
done with Shawna, and they could continue their life and their marriage together. But in January of 2007, when
they returned to Colorado, they realized that
their issues with Shawna are far from over. Because on January 8th, Shawna texted Ignacio
a message for Heather. And it said, "Heather,
if you're reading this, you're a psycho bitch." And there were actually many
messages sent to Heather and Ignacio. So many that they decided to hire a lawyer who sent Shawna a formal
request to stay away from them. Ignacio got really worried that Heather was going
to seek revenge on them, so he would have them pull their cars in the garage at night, in case she came along, and tried to slash their tires. But, at some point in
January, the messages stopped, and they thought that they
had gotten rid of her, but they didn't. She was back on January
16th with an email. It read, "I am dead inside
from all that has happened. I wish you the best and
hope you can be happy. I am now living every day in hell." And after this, things
went quiet for a while, but the worst was yet to come from Shawna. On January 23rd, 2007, just after 6:15 pm, Heather was walking out of work when someone approached
her in a Halloween mask. And witnesses heard this person say, "You've ruined my life,
get on the ground." Heather got on her knees, and then this person
fired two gunshots at her, and then ran away. And a coworker who witnessed
this called 911 right away. - [Eyewitness 1] Someone's been shot. - [911 Operator] Somebody's been shot? - Yeah, right outside.
- Are you with them? Are you with the person? - [Eyewitness 1] Yeah, she's
on the ground right now. We just ran around. Somebody yelled at her, "You've
ruined my life," in a mask, and just shot her and ran. - A second witness also called 911, and identified the
person who had been shot as Heather Garraus. - [Eyewitness 2] She's on the ground! - [911 Operator] Is it male or female? - [Eyewitness 2] Female. - Ignacio was actually at
home when someone called to let him know what
had happened to Heather. And Victoria, their daughter, was actually the one to answer the phone, and handed it off to her dad. And, of course, he
immediately calls dispatch to see what was going on. - [Ignacio] Yeah, Dave, it's Ig. What's going on? - [Dave] Sounds like we've got a shooting at the Credit Union. - [Ignacio] They're
saying my wife was shot. - [Dave] I don't know that. - [Ignacio] Okay, I'm on my way there. - So Ignacio gets Victoria in the car, and they actually go to
the scene of the crime to see what was going on, and then they go to the hospital where Heather is being treated. Ignacio ends up going
into the trauma center, and it was there that he found out that Heather did not make it. At age 37, Heather Garraus
was pronounced dead from two gunshot wounds
from a 40 caliber Glock 22. And in one of the 911 calls, Shawna Nelson was
identified as the shooter. And although they didn't
know this for certain, and APB was put out for Shawna right away. So, Shawna's husband, Ken, was also working when
he heard the bulletin. All he gathered was that
there was a shooting, and Shawna was the primary suspect. And he thought something
happened to his kids. So he grabbed another detective and took off towards his house. And on the way to their house, Ken actually sees Shawna
driving his truck, and he stops her in
the middle of the road. Shawna said that when Ken stopped her, he immediately seemed
angry and upset with her, and she said at the time
she didn't know why. At this point, they were seven miles away from the crime scene. Shawna was identified
wearing blue striped pants, a long sweater, a lavender top, and socks with no shoes. After the encounter with her husband, Ken, she was detained by the
other detective he was with, and brought in for questioning. And when Shawna was brought in, she seemed to have no
idea what was going on. - [Police Officer] Like I said, the reason that we brought you down here is there's a lot of information coming from a lot of different sources, and we're trying to sort through it. - Yeah.
- Okay? I know you, but that
doesn't have any relevance. What are these rights? Are you comfortable? - [Shawna] You still have to do your job. - [Police Officer] I have to do my job. You still have these rights, okay? - [Shawna] I just don't know what to do. I don't know what my side is. I don't understand this. This is all kinda overwhelming, Greg. - [Police Officer] That I know. - [Shawna] One minute I'm
going to the liquor store, and the next minute, Ken's
jumping out of the truck, and I don't know. - And she explains to the officer what happened in her version of events that led to being stopped by Ken. - [Police Officer] What
happened that caused Ken to stop you guys or to stop you? - [Shawna] I had gone to
the liquor store, (sniffing) and I got out in front, and I realized I didn't bring my purse. So I started back home and he was calling- - [Police Officer] Which liquor store? - [Shawna] Over at College Green. I always go there. I'm on the... You know, you get points. - [Police Officer] That new College Green? - Okay, yeah, right.
- The one at 47 and 20? Okay. - [Shawna] But I realized
that I didn't have my purse. - [Police Officer] Okay. - [Shawna] So I started
to go back home to get it. And I don't know if Ken was pissed because I left the kids at home or what, but I didn't wanna answer the phone because I thought he'd be pissed if I told him I was in the liquor store. And he left a message saying to call him. I was like, "Shit! I wonder if he knows I
left the kids at home." - [Police Officer] Okay. - [Shawna] And as I was
turning to go home right there, where you guys saw me, or the whole thing, he jumped out and, "Police! Stop and get out." - [Police Officer] What did he tell you? - [Shawna] He didn't say anything. - [Police Officer] He just
went, "Stop and get out?" - [Shawna] He was yelling. He was so pissed. - Shawna was then
arrested three days later on July 26th, 2007 for the
murder of Heather Garraus. But it wasn't until the
trial in February of 2008, that all the details of
her plan to kill Heather really came out. So in order to really understand the trial and the evidence that was presented, we really have to go back and
see what Shawna said happened, leading up to the shooting. So evidence shows that January 22nd, the day before the shooting, Shawna actually called the Credit Union that Heather worked at, and she said that this was just
regarding a question she had about a previous statement, but the prosecution said
that she was clearly trying to track down Heather's location. And that evening, Shawna and Michelle went to
a bar called Jackson Hole, where they had been
drinking for a few hours. And it was on their drive home from that, according to Shawna, that she ended her sexual
relationship with Michelle. - I was driving Michelle home, and told her that I no longer could have a sexual relationship with her, that I had been thinking about
it all through our drinks, and that since I was trying to actually, maybe finally be loyal to Ken, that I needed to completely fess up, and that I was gonna go home, and tell Ken also about my
relationship with Michelle. And I told her I loved her, and that I still wanted to
remain friends with her, but I couldn't keep lying to Ken. It was just, it was too much. - [Interviewer] What was Michelle
Moore's reaction to that? - She was very upset. - And Shawna testified that
there was no mention of Heather that entire evening. The following day, January 23rd, while she was picking
up her kids from school, Shawna says that she calls up Michelle, and apologizes for ending their affair, and says she wants to
work things out with her. - I had tried to call Michelle while I was waiting for the
kids to come out of school. I just got her voicemail. I did leave a voicemail. I tried to call again. There was no answer. She wouldn't answer it. - [Interviewer] What message did you leave for Michelle Moore? - I told her that I was sorry
that I had to end the affair, that I did love her, that I wanted to talk
to her about it more, that I would be home all night, that I had a headache, and I was gonna take a bath. - Then after she picks
up the kids from school, she takes them to Subway for dinner. And this is confirmed
by surveillance footage. And then after Subway, they quickly ran into King Soopers so that Shawna could
pick up a few groceries that she needed, and then she and her kids drove back home. And when they got home, they had dinner, and then Shawna says that
she offers her oldest son $5 to watch his two younger
siblings while she takes a bath. She said that she wanted to take this bath because she had previously
hit her head on a cabinet, and wanted to relax. So her son agrees to
watch the younger siblings for the five bucks while Heather takes a bath to
relax from her cabinet injury. And then Shawna explains that she had been recently
taking some diet pills, and she took one when they got home. And when she went upstairs
to fill the bathtub and locked the door so that
her kids couldn't bust in, and as the bathtub is filling up, she says she suffered an accident
because of the diet pills. - Just taken it when we had gotten home, and it takes a little bit to kick in, but it does give you diarrhea. And I had an accident. So I was undressing and
dealing with that for a while. - [Interviewer] Did you lock
the door to the bedroom? - I did. - So then she says once
the tub was filled, she decides that she wants
to enjoy a bottle of wine. But, unfortunately, all they
had in their fridge was beer. And after making the decision
that she wants this wine, she goes to put on clothes, and she ends up getting them
out of the dirty hamper. And, apparently, Ken's
underwear was one of the items she decided to put on. And she explained that she didn't wanna
put on anything clean because she just had an accident. When she went downstairs, she said that she
intended to put on shoes, but didn't before she left the house. - Went to get the shoes, and realized that I had actually, in turn, put the shoes in our closet. So there weren't any shoes
over there for me to put on. - [Interviewer] Why didn't
you go and get the shoes? - Because I had already
locked the bedroom door, and I was just trying to hurry. - [Interviewer] What did you do then? - I left. - And she also says that she decided to take Ken's car at that
point, instead of her own. - That's where the truck
had ended up being parked from the previous day. And the way our garage is, we
only can fit one car in there. And it's right in the
middle of the garage. And when I was backing
out earlier that day in my Expedition, I had almost hit the truck. So my initial intentions
were to just take it and park it around front
and get it out of there, so I wouldn't have to worry
about hitting it again. - So, it's about 6:05, when Shawna says that she leaves
the home wearing no shoes, in Ken's underwear, driving his truck. But when she arrived at the liquor store, she realized that she'd
forgotten her wallet, and wouldn't be able to purchase the wine, so she turned around and went home. And she says that she
remembers being in a daze the entire time this is going on. And it's just a few minutes later that she is stopped by her husband, Ken, and fellow officer who
ends up detaining her. - I rolled down the passenger side window, and I stopped right in
the middle of the street. And I said, "What's going on?" He said, "What have you done?" And I said, "What are you talking about? I don't know." And then he said, "Get out of the truck." - [Interviewer] Was he
just saying these things? What was his tone of voice?
- No, he was yelling. He was yelling at me. - So that takes us to the
evidence that was found and discussed during the trial. The Ford F-250 was searched as Ken drove home to
check on his children. And inside, the officer
found a black mask, but there was no gun or a robe. And then 700 feet away from the truck, a shoe was found, a left shoe, and it was abandoned, and a few hundred feet
further down the road, the right shoe was just
lying on the ground. So they ended up doing gunshot
residue tests on Shawna, and here's what they found. Items that tested positive
for gunshot residue include Shawna's face,
her hand, her sweatpants, her tank top, her cap, her
underwear, and her gloves. Oh, and also the interior
side of the driver's door. So, lots of residue here. The mask that was found in the car actually did not test positive
for gunshot residue, though. And when it comes to the
shoes that she was wearing, which were found outside on the ground, the right shoe tested
positive for gunshot residue, the left side did not. So, during the trial, an expert from the Colorado
Bureau of Investigation testified that there are three ways a person can test positive
for gunshot residue. First, obviously, they fired the gun. Second, they were near someone who did. And, third, they came in contact with someone who had
gunshot residue on them. And so, Shawna's defense team argued that the only reason she tested
positive for gunshot residue was because she was in Ken's truck. They argued that Ken was a police officer, and he would often go to the gun range. They also pointed out that
there was no blood found on the Halloween mask. And they said, if she was the one who
committed this shooting, wouldn't there be blood on the mask? But the prosecution came back to that and said that because Heather was ordered to get on the ground, she was on her knees, that blood spatter wouldn't
have reached all the way up to the person wearing the mask. So there's a few other key
pieces of evidence here worth noting. The first being the tire tracks that were left at the crime scene. Because it had been snowing that day, a clear tire track had
been left by the shooter. And an expert in tire track comparisons testified that the
tracks left at the scene were an exact match to Ken's truck. And the analysis was so precise that they could actually
track down the tire marks to a rock that was lodged in Ken's tires. And ATM surveillance
footage even placed the car, matching the make and model of the truck, leaving the crime scene. There was some debate
over whether the match was exact or not, but the commercial fleet manager testified that the ATM surveillance
footage definitely showed a Ford F-250 just like the one
that Shawna drove that night. As you can imagine, the mask ended up being
a big part of the trial. Even though there was no blood or gunshot residue on the mask, it was a match to the
mask that was described by the people who had witnessed
the attack that night. And one witness actually recalled seeing something bright
underneath the hood. And, as you can see, there's
red on the inside of the hood. And it's definitely pretty bright. Now, Ken testified that he had
never seen this mask before. However, Shawna says that
it had been in his truck since 2006. But Ken testified that just
a week before the murder, he had been searching through his truck, and at no point did he ever see this mask. So the shoes were also a
major point of contention during the trial. These were size 10 men's shoes. And the defense argued that
Shawna wouldn't have worn these because she's a size eight women's. Also, Ken said that the
shoes didn't belong to him. He had never seen them. But the prosecution were adamant that these shoes were Shawna's. And an expert in serology and DNA analysis testified that the shoes contained quote, "The presence of mixtures," meaning that DNA belonging
to more than one person was detected. And she said that the major
DNA component was female, and it matched to Shawna's DNA profile. So, pretty good evidence there. And the prosecutors were certain that she ditched those shoes, because Michelle testified
that Shawna told her she'd leave behind evidence that would confuse investigators. So Michelle ends up having one of the most damning
testimonies of the whole trial. Investigators strongly believed that Michelle had helped
Shawna plan the shooting. But instead of prosecuting
her to the same degree, she was offered a deal. She could testify against Shawna, and get a reduced sentence. And so, in Michelle's testimony, she confessed that she and
Shawna planned Heather's murder. She explained how she and Shawna
talked about different ways that they could take care of Heather. And one of the ways that
they were considering was poisoning her. And Michelle even testified that they actually came up with a code that they would use when Shawna was going to commit the murder, and that was "taking a bath." And so that night, that Ignacio told
Heather about the affair, the same night he left Shawna
and Michelle at the bar, Michelle remembers Shawna saying, "Well, I could just shoot her. Just drive down to the
Credit Union and shoot her." Michelle also testified that Shawna said that she would make it
look like whoever shot her was someone that Heather
had denied a loan to. And investigators actually considered that maybe Shawna was
trying to make it look like Ken committed the murder, because she was in his truck
and wearing his clothing. So it wouldn't be
impossible to make the leap that he was the killer. But, of course, the most
important piece of evidence here is the murder weapon. And in a search warrant
on January 24th, 2007, they found a box for the exact gun that matched the one used in the crime, but they couldn't find the actual gun. And the only people who would've
had it are Ken and Shawna. And Shawna testified that
she had pawned off that gun. - Well, my intentions were to
go over to this Mister Money over in Loveland, and pawn this gun for some
money to take to Grand Lake. When I got over to the pawn shop, I met this guy outside, and started talking to him
and he bought it from me. - But in Michelle's testimony, she said that Shawna told her that she never actually pawned the gun. She just told Ken that she did. So in closing, the lead
prosecutor reminds the jury of all the evidence against Shawna Nelson. - Remember, the defendant had
gunshot residue all over her. Her face, her right hand, clothing, and there was even gunshot
residue on shoes with her DNA that weren't with her. And why weren't they with her? Because she saw her husband
and Cal Halsey approaching. She hit the button for
the passenger window. And what was the first shoe that went out? It was the left shoe, because the right shoe was
still on the gas pedal. That one went out, then she switched, and the right one went out. 700 feet later, she was stopped. - And one thing that
he really drilled home was the importance of
common sense in this case, and how Shawna clearly had none. The things that she did and
said that she did that day, just didn't even make sense. - But would you really not get in the tub after you defecated on
yourself for over 30 minutes? But decide, "I think I'll go to the liquor
store in this condition, and then I'll come back
and get into the tub?" Does that make any sense to anybody in their common experiences in life? The tub was filled with
water, ladies and gentlemen, because she knew she was gonna
be coming back in a rush, and she was gonna be, what was the plan? "I'm gonna hit the house
and I'm in the tub, and any trace evidence
goes away down the drain." That's why that tub was
filled, ladies and gentlemen. - And after 10 days of trial, it only took the jury a
little over five hours to reach a unanimous verdict
that Shawna Nelson was guilty of the first degree
murder of Heather Garraus. Shawna was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And she's currently serving that sentence at the Denver Women's
Correctional Facility. And just like she was promised
for helping the police, Michelle did receive a reduced sentence, and Ken was actually charged
with evidence tampering in the murder of Heather. And that's because the
gun was never found. They assumed that either Ken
helped her get rid of the gun, or Shawna ditched it somewhere in the minutes after killing Heather. I guess a high school student who was coming out of the parking lot, right after Shawna's initial arrest, said he saw a man get out of
a Jeep on the driver's side, and reach his hand into
the cab of the truck, and pull something out. He said he didn't see exactly what was pulled out of the truck because whoever this person was took it, put it in their pocket very quickly, and got back in their car. So police believe that
Ken had taken the gun, and hid it somewhere
after Shawna was taken in by that other detective he was with. But the charges against
Ken were later dropped because they did not have enough evidence. Now, as for Ignacio, he obviously was not
charged with anything, but he feels very guilty about
what happened to Heather. And he says he fully feels
responsible for his wife's death. I guess he's currently living in Florida, and is no longer working
in law enforcement. So yeah, just incredibly sad how jealousy can make people
do such terrible, evil things. It's crazy that Shawna
actually took it that far, to take Heather's life,
who's completely innocent, and did not deserve that. I hope you guys were
able to follow that okay. I know it got a bit confusing there. I mean, Shawna's conflicting stories get a little bit confusing to follow. But, as always, I wanna hear
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