Lucas, according to Torres, directs her to go to Walmart. Emmanuel Chandler, then 29, turned himself in for the crime and has not yet entered a plea.. No one but the investigators knew what Martinez was planning to say in her testimony. However, due to technical difficulties, nobody in the public or the reporters pool could see or hear what was said or asked. Family photo. Saxton also pleaded with police to not stop searching for her daughter's body, so she can have a proper burial. Lucas said Schelling then dropped him off at his house and left. 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. Lucas said that he would help support the baby, according to Saxton. You dont have an obligation to me. Schelling's body has never been found, but she is presumed dead. Schelling's body hasn't been found. 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. Thus, today, at the age of 28, Donthe Isiah Lucas, or inmate 190792, is incarcerated in the Centennial Correctional Facility in Canon City. I dont feel right. Kelsie Schelling (credit: CBS) When she disappeared in February 2013, Schelling was pregnant and was reportedly travelling from Denver to Pueblo to talk to Lucas about it. Love you, Sara Lucas said. Suhr messaged Lucas on Facebook saying she was new to the Pueblo area and that she was looking to meet new people. Leave me alone, Lucas said. Donthe Isiah Lucas pleaded not guilty to the charge against him in 2018. 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. Emmanuel Chandler was arrested for Martinez's death. She was like, Stop calling me. Law enforcement finally turned Schellings missing persons case into a criminal case. Its getting harder to come back, I dread the trips but I know I have to do it, she said. 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. Lucas also admitted to Suhr that he was the person seen in the Walmart surveillance footage and that he moved the car to St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center. The suit criticized the way the investigation was handled but was ultimately dismissed. We wont speak of it again. He inferred that Schelling had lied about being pregnant numerous times in the past to try to, make me stay with her and keep talking to her or whatever.. RELATED:Opening statements in murder trial begin in case of Kelsie Schelling's disappearanceDonthe Lucas murder trial will begin WednesdayLong-awaited murder trial to begin in the case of Kelsie Schelling's disappearancePrevious coverage: The Kelsie Schelling Case_____, KOAA News5 on your time, streaming on your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and AndroidTV.News5 App | First Alert 5 Weather App | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Stop acting like you cant do it. The Economic Update with Tatiana Bailey Ph. Saxton got choked up when identifying her daughter's birth certificate, passport, and an expired passport from when #Schelling was "just a little girl." 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Police say that Lucas cell phone data shows he couldve been at the landfill that night. 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. ABCs 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. Schelling left work shortly after 8:40 p.m. and drove two hours to see Lucas in Pueblo. At that point I was kind of done, Suhr said. 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. The theory would explain the lack of a murder weapon. I grabbed my mother very tight and held her very close, Kelsies brother, Colby Schelling, said. Schellings family offered $50,000 for information about her disappearance and set up a Facebook page called Help Find Kelsie.. Kelsie Schelling disappearance: Second witness says she became intimate with Donthe Lucas They continued to press Lucas about the vehicle, and he several times denied moving it after parking it. They planned to meet but at the last minute, Wilkins told Saxton she was in the hospital and could not come. Their argument continued through texts beyond 4 a.m. MORE:Lucas trial day 1: Former inmate testifies Lucas admitted guilt to the murder, Later that morning, Torres read texts from Schelling to Lucas that said, Im sorry for hanging up on you over and over. -- It's been over eight years since Laura Saxton's 21-year-old pregnant daughter Kelsie Schelling vanished. 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. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Although some initially believed it seemed suspicious that Martinez died just before her testimony, investigators determined the shooting was completely unrelated to the trial. She texts him at 11:18 p.m., saying she has arrived at the meeting spot. OK. 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. His book charts the interlinked ontology and theory of subjectivity constructed by iek at the intersection of German idealism and Lacanian theory. Just wait and see for yourself, you probably wouldnt believe me if I told you anyway, so you can see for yourself.. Saxton still doesn't have all the answers she's searched tirelessly for. There are no cameras allowed in the building and no live reporting from the courthouse. Schelling, 21, went missing in 2013 after driving from Denver to Pueblo to see Lucas. She said based on her evaluation, Schelling was, in fact, pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Without a crime scene, murder weapon or body, how could the jury be convinced this was murder, and that Lucas was responsible? She'd driven down from Denver to Pueblo to meet her boyfriend Donthe Lucas, who had. [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.. NR | 03.26.21 | 01:20:44 | CC more episodes 42:55 Tate testified that after her appointment concluded, Schelling scheduled her follow-up appointment for March 4, 2013, but never showed up. Obviously it's an important piece of evidence that he moved the car because it shows he's covering up the crime. She wanted to see what I was going to do if I was going to leave her, try to help her, a whole bunch of crazy stuff., He said Schelling visited him around 2 a.m.Feb. 5, after shed driven to Pueblo and met him near his grandmothers house. Her body has never been found. 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. The jury convicted Lucas after approximately four hours of deliberation. Pueblo Police Capt. On Dec. 1, 2017, two weeks after his arrest for the robbery, Lucas was arrested and charged with first degree murder. I moved the car, Chostner said. There's no single person other than the defendant in 2017, who's saying that [Schelling] was into drugs and that she was a party girl, McCarthy said. Her friend was also in communication with Schelling's mom, Laura Saxton. "We're doing everything in our power. 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. The story was featured in the international media, including on America's Most Wanted, [2] before her body was found near a lake in Missouri on June 6, 2007. She regularly made the 220-mile drive from her home in rural Yuma, Colorado, to Pueblo. 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. They found out that hed withdrawn $400 from her bank account. 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. Now, follow one mother's crusade for justice in this true crime investigation. Pueblo County District Attorney Jeff Chostner said investigators received a tip Lucas may be trying to skip town. We know that that's his phone. But Tate said they would never perform a biopsy on a pregnant woman and said even if Schelling did have HPV, its a common diagnosis about 15 percent of women have HPV at any given time. She said that domestic violence does not always escalate from mental and emotional abuse into physical abuse, but said changes in power dynamics such as a new pregnancy could lead to an escalation of abuse. Her mother, Laura Saxton, also knew about their tumultuous alliance. However, Lucas' defense team called the trial "the biggest reach in Pueblo's history," saying that prosecutors didn't have a weapon, cause of death, location of the murder, or location of the body. Lucas, according to Torres recap of the text exchange, replied, Cool, then said he wished Schelling didnt have to work that evening. PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV . And I can get her back, Kadie Lancaster told 20/20. What if he really does have her and I can bring her home?. I have to go to the doctor. Introduction: Managing the World; 1. Silly, she was so silly., I miss being silly with her, Saxton added. 21-year-old Kelsie Schelling was two months pregnant when she drove from Denver to Pueblo to see her former boyfriend Donthe Lucas. Text messages showed the emotionally abusive relationship Kelsie was in. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play. But tragically, Kelsie Schelling went missing soon after she revealed her pregnancy to her partner, Donthe Lucas. You dont have to marry me. That's just 100% clarification that some dirt bags out there are trying to get money off of these poor families.. Disturbing Details About Kelsie Schelling's Partner And Murderer, Donthe Lucas. We did not have a body that would've told us location No modus operandi of how she died. Police found Schelling's car in a Walmart parking lot in Pueblo a few days after she was reported missing. She drove to Pueblo that night to meet him, explaining that he had told her to come. I just thought, What if shes been out there and I couldve found her and we havent?. Strangely enough, around the same time, the family of another missing woman 1,200 miles away in Portsmouth, Ohio, had been receiving similar messages. March 3 Fugitive Finder: Pueblos most wanted, Increase in Shigella cases, drug-resistant infections, Remembrance ceremony for Divide woman missing since, Disneyland fan sets record for most consecutive, Biden had cancerous lesion removed, no further treatment, Brothers convicted of killing groom hours after wedding, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Asked about the conversation he allegedly had with Schelling the prior day, Feb. 9, when she called him from a blocked number, Lucas said the conversation was very short and consisted of Schelling yelling at him and telling him not to leave her voicemails. No blood was found on two knives collected. YouTube: Body parts found in suitcases, luggage tags lead to suspected killer; Kelsie Schelling update - TCDPOD, TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases SUBSCRIBE: APPLE PODCASTS / SPOTIFY / STITCHER / GOOGLE PODCASTS / YOUTUBE. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) -Donthe Lucas was found guilty of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend Kelsie Schelling in 2013. In cross examination, Tameler asked Binet if, in his time with the missing and exploited persons unit, hed encountered people who intentionally disappeared to get away from their lives, and if such people tend to make sure they dont leave indicators to where they might be going. In addition to this, Schelling's phone records indicated a call was made from her cell to a woman who Schelling reportedly didn't know, and whom Lucas was romantically involved with even though Lucas could not explain the call. Kelsie Schelling was over the moon. We didn't have any of that.. Schelling and Lucas met at Northeastern Junior College in 2010. 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). 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. In September 2016, a stressed and worried mother, Laura Saxton, reached out to him, hoping to reinvigorate the case of her missing daughter, Kelsie Schelling. Her phone, according to Torres and Eicher, was also never recorded as having left Pueblo. In the following days, her parents and friends said Schellings texts continued to contain uncharacteristic punctuation and curt responses. Roxann Martinez, 31, was found dead on Feb. 25 from a gunshot wound and her death has been classified a homicide. Suhr testified that Lucas had admitted to her that he was the mysterious figure seen picking up Schellings car after it sat overnight in a Walmart parking lot and that he had also dropped the car off at the hospital. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community Guidelines | KRDO Jobs | FCC Applications |, KRDO FCC Public File | KRDO FCC Applications, Breaking News The Pap smear was abnormal, Tatesaid, seemed to show that Schelling might be at risk for cervical cancer and could possibly have had human papillomavirus (HPV), warranting a follow up evaluation. She was happy. Her family also received a message from someone who claimed to know where Lancaster was. Shortly before noon, other texts are exchanged between Lucas and Schellings phones, which the prosecution alleges were not actually sent by Schelling. According to the State Department of Corrections records, because Donthe is to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars, his estimated sentence discharge date is December 31, 9998. 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. It was years before he went to trial for Schellings murder. Circumstantial and forensic evidence are prominen Though Lucas has been sentenced to life behind bars for her murder, the exact location of Schellings remains have not been revealed and Saxton still hasnt been able to lay her to rest. You couldn't see what kind of vehicle, you couldn't tell who was in the car, Pueblo police Capt. Some of her friends testified to the physical abuse, and cell phone data showed Kelsies phone was in the same area as her killers in the days after authorities believed she had been killed. During the trial, investigators had revealed troubling information about Schellings possible whereabouts. Her beloved daughter disappeared less than two weeks before her 22nd birthday on February 4, 2013. Then, he proposed to her. She said she first reached out to him on Facebook and they exchanged numbers. Didnt expect to feel like this now.. The next day, Schellings father tried to get in touch with her and received a strange text waving him off. Moreover, only a day earlier in Denver, Schelling's doctor had told her that the baby was healthy. 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.. 4:34. How to Build a State? 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. The argument between Schelling and Lucas, according to the exchanged texts as recounted by Torres, continued into the early morning hours of Feb. 4. She said they dated for a year when, on his porch, he started hyperventilating and crying. 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. I felt like I was [in] pretty deep. Su gemela permanece en grave estado, Ahora puedes vivir en un crucero por US$ 30.000 por ao. The young woman had driven down to Pueblo on February 4, 2013, to meet with her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, after sharing the news of her pregnancy, never to be seen or heard from again. The prosecution also used surveillance video of Lucas alone at the Walmart and cell phone data showing his location indicated he had been driving in Schellings car after she vanished. Im sorry for hanging up on you … I truly am. Schelling texted Lucas at 8:50 p.m., saying, Im coming now. Are you still coming (down to Pueblo) after work? Megan Lancaster, then 25, had disappeared just months after Schelling. It reaches the surface, he said. He reportedly asks what the doctors told her and she replies that everything looked good and that her due date was Sept. 13. She said shed have to think about it and drove home. During the hearings, while the defense called upon no witnesses, the prosecutors invited Kelsies friends, family members, investigators, along with other experts to take the stands and highlight how Donthe could have slain Kelsie. He said they got in an argument and he exited her vehicle, but Schelling stayed in Pueblo that night. She used to work out there and she lived there for a while. Im very grateful that our paths crossed and God took us to this moment.. Hours later she vanished. Schelling goes to work that evening and she and Lucas continue to argue over text. @KOAA. We wanna bring her home with us, her and Cadry both. This led them to believe Lucas had murdered Schelling, and disposed of her body there, though her remains have never been found. However, nothing was found. Kelsie Schelling Self - Goes missing (archive footage) All cast & crew Production, box office & more at IMDbPro Storyline Edit A courageous mother, whose daughter mysteriously went missing, finds justice with the help of another mom she never met; Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Documentary Crime News Certificate Unrated Parents guide There should be every effort made to go in there and pull her out of there if that's where she ended up being, Saxton said. -- It's been over eight years since Laura Saxton's 21-year-old pregnant daughter Kelsie Schelling vanished. Great now., Sara Lucas asked Donthe, Shes not pregnant?, He responded: Nothing. Now that she is gone, Ive had to turn into a fighter, Saxton told 20/20.. Saxton never met with Marcus at the McDonalds after Vancouver Police backed out of their involvement, believing it to be a scam. 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. Since the trial is over, and Kelsie still hasn't been found I've just felt very, very lost and very empty, Saxton said in the week following the trial. This all eventually came to a head in February 2013, after Schelling seemingly vanished without a trace even though the investigation turned up activity on Schelling's cell per her phone records, along with footage of Lucas withdrawing $400 from his girlfriend's account in the days after her disappearance, per ABC News. The co-worker received a text message, supposedly from Schelling, saying she wasnt having the baby anymore because it was growing in the wrong place.. In partnership with A little bit later, he got back with me. Lucas insisted to the man, who later testified about the incident in court, that he wouldn't be convicted of that crime but in the end, it seemed to seal his fate. I wont tell you about my appointment. Yet, there was still someone else who said Lucas had confessed vital information: Lauren Suhr. Please enter valid email address to continue. Kelsie's mother Laura Saxton can barely hold back the tears. However, in January of 2019, both the prosecution and defense said they would not be ready to go to trial by early April 2019, because of an additional 125 witnesses who could possibly be called to testify. After their talk, he said, he believed Schelling left town. So be ready., At 9:19 p.m., Schelling texts Lucas to say that shes in Monument. She drove down to see her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas. In December 2017, almost four years after Schelling's disappearance, Lucas was charged with her murder. He believes her murder does have to do with the #DontheLucas trial, even though Denver police have said they believe there's no connection. wordlist = ['!', '$.027', '$.03', '$.054/mbf', '$.07', '$.07/cwt', '$.076', '$.09', '$.10-a-minute', '$.105', '$.12', '$.30', '$.30/mbf', '$.50', '$.65', '$.75', '$. She was reportedly on her way from Denver to Pueblo to discuss the pregnancy with Lucas. 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. Prosecutors also argued Lucas constantly used Schelling for money, her apartment in Denver and her car, claims the defense didnt deny. Criminal defense attorney Danielle Iredale joins host Ana Garcia. Eight years after his girlfriend went missing, a Colorado man has been convicted of first-degree murder in her death. March 8, 2021 / 11:59 PM [He said] that [she] was his best friend and he had nothing to do with it, and then he would just shut down and start crying hysterically and get upset, Suhr said. On February 4, 2013, Schelling went to a local Walmart in the town of Pueblo, Colorado, where she planned to meet up with Lucas and tell him about her new pregnancy but according to interview footage taken in 2017, Lucas told investigators that the night had taken a different turn (via Fox 21 News). In May 2016, just after 20/20 covered Schellings case, Pueblo Police Capt. Schelling was reportedly traveling from Denver to Pueblo to talk to Lucas about the pregnancy. Even though Kelsies remains have never been found, shes long since accepted her daughters death. One minute, he had no involvement. Suhr said she always knew what she was doing, trying to gather information about Schelling, and never fell in love with Lucas. Laura Saxton and her daughter Kelsie Schelling, who vanished in 2013. No blood was detected in #Schelling's car. It was scary. 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.. Even thinking about it now that we have the guilty verdict, [there is] just so much still to do to find Kelsie and bring her back to the family.. The prosecution argued that Lucas didnt want his pregnant girlfriend to have their unborn baby, so he plotted and killed her before it could happen. It said, Where are you? A murder conviction without a body is an instance of a person being convicted of murder despite the absence of the victim's body. I mean, who wants that for their child to be the final resting place? Geo resource failed to load. Schelling left work shortly after 8:40 p.m. and drove two hours to see Lucas in Pueblo. She texts him at 10:20 p.m., saying shes arrived and Lucas replies that hell be there shortly. But it soon became clear that Schelling had disappeared without a trace and no one knew where she was. It was the most emotional moment in the courtroom today by far, watching a mother look at these remnants of her daughter. According to her, Schelling had gotten confirmation of her pregnancy on the day she disappeared. From the. Follow her on Twitter for the quickest updates. But Lucas claimed when they spoke later, Schelling ended up telling me shes not pregnant. Donthe Lucas in court for Kelsie Schelling's murder. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. 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. Walker said there are several different ways domestic violence offenders controls their victims -- through financial abuse, leveraging family dynamics, such as the presence of children, threats and intimidation and withholding emotional support. KOAA News5 on your time, streaming on your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and AndroidTV. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Ive been here over an hour just waiting., Schelling didnt show up to work on Feb. 5, and a worried co-worker tried calling her. (1) 2021 TV-14. On the day she reportedly disappeared, GPS on her phone showed it traveled to the same location in Pueblo as Lucas' phone. At 1:28 a.m., Schelling tells Lucas, I wont tell you anything about the baby. Police found surveillance video showing Lucas driving her car at an ATM 12 hours after Schelling arrived in Pueblo. He testified to various tests he ran on around 45 items of evidence. Tate said Schellings medical records did not indicate she was at any risk of a miscarriage. Lucas was sentenced to. The prosecution asked Binet if Lucas had told Sinnema in their Feb. 9 conversation about Schelling calling him from the private number that same day. 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. Around that time, Torres said, is when Schellings car was parked at the South Side Walmart, as evidenced by surveillance video of the parking lot. The Pueblo landfill said there was evidence of a car at the dump and Lucas' cell phone data suggest he could have been there the night of Feb. 4, 2013. Michelle Chostner prosecuted the case alongside senior prosecutor Kyle McCarthy, and Alex Baker, an Assistant Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney Generals Office. It's still an open case. Suhr also testified that Lucas would break down and cry whenever he talked about Schelling he had nothing to do with her disappearance. I never want to give up on trying to bring her home. she said. By taking this avowal seriously, Adrian Johnston nally claries the philosophical project underlying iek's eorts. "Kelsie Schelling was feloniously killed when Donthe Lucas committed first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter against Kelsie and Sara Lucas and Lucas acted as. Initially, their relationship seemed idyllic. the Alert is a 2023 documentary on Peacock. 10:50 a.m.: Opening statements wrapped up from prosecutors and Donthe Lucas' defense. Back in 2013, Kelsie Schelling felt like she had her whole life ahead of her. Her. Walker was called as a blind expert, meaning she was not familiar with the details of the Lucas case but spoke to general trends in domestic violence cases. CBS4 was on scene in 2017 when investigators dug up the yard of a home where Lucas used to live. By Feb. 7, Saxton said her calls to Schelling were going directly to voicemail. 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. Lucas appears to have asked Schelling to come down to Pueblo after she got off work the evening of Feb. 3, and expresses disappointment she will not drive down. Schelling, and Hegel. Oh my god, Torres said Sara Lucas replied. 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. Sa fortune s lve 2 000,00 euros mensuels At 9:56 p.m., she texts again, saying, Almost there. Attorney Becky Briggs, part of Lucas defense team, grilled Tateabout Schellings medical history and asked Tateabout what was referred to by a medical assistant as a worrisome Pap smear at Schellings appointment.