Alex Thomas
A Colorado teenager will spend of his life behind bars for murdering his high school girlfriend.
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On Wednesday, 19-year-old Tanner Flores was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend Ashley Doolittle. He will be sentenced on Thursday, but the mandatory minimum is life in prison without parole. Flores and Doolittle were dating but the relationship went sour, and on June 9, 2016, he kidnapped the 18-year-old and shot her multiple times in the head before burying her body on family property, KDVR reports.
From the beginning of the trial, Flores’ lawyer didn’t contest that her client murdered Doolittle, but argued that he did not plan the crime. On the day of the murder, Flores picked Doolittle up and shot her while driving down the road. The state’s investigator showed that their cell phones were together at the time of the murder and the last call that Doolittle made was to another man that Doolittle may have been dating — the relationship angered Flores, the Denver Post reports.
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During a three-hour testimony, Flores told the jury of nine men and five women that the murder “It wasn’t an intentional thing. It was just something that happened.” He was spared the death penalty, because, under Colorado law, prosecutors wishing to seek capital punishment have to declare that as their intention before the trial.
