The defense team of homicide suspect Donthe Lucas, who stands accused of the first-degree murder of Kelsie Schelling, was expected to begin presenting its case Monday but instead rested without calling witnesses or presenting additional evidence.
The jury began deliberating Monday morning. The Chieftain will be in the courtroom when a verdict is announced.
Schelling was 21 years old when she drove from her home in Denver to Pueblo to see Lucas on Feb. 4, 2013. She has not been seen or heard from since, and her remains have never been found.
After the defense rested its case, Deputy District Attorney Michelle Chostner outlined the prosecution’s case, which took 13 days to present to the jury before the prosecution rested on Friday.
More than eight years after pregnant 21-year-old Kelsie Schelling disappeared in Pueblo without a trace, the man she came to Pueblo to visit that night was convicted of her murder.
Donthe Lucas, 28, was found guilty of first-degree murder Monday afternoon at the Dennis Maes Judicial Building and sentenced to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections without parole.
Schelling went missing Feb. 4, 2013 and several years went by without any discernable progress on the case, but Lucas was charged with her murder Dec. 1, 2017, despite the fact her body was never found.
Lucas’ conviction followed 13 days of testimony, which the jury deliberated over for less than three hours before returning a verdict of guilty.