Trial Gets Under Way For Man Accused Of Killing Woman & Staging Crash
DENVer (CBS4) - The trial got under way Monday for a man police say faked a car accident to cover up the murder of his girlfriend.
Robert Walters, 25, is charged with first-degree murder for the death of 22-year-old Brittney Brashers last November. Police reports say he confessed to killing her after an argument then staging the accident.
Walters is accused of beating and strangling Brashers to death in her car while they were driving from Colorado Springs to Denver. The two had a history of domestic violence, according to police reports. They were fighting that day because Brashers had been involved in a photo shoot where she took her top off.
In an affidavit Walters later admitted the crime to his estranged wife at the time. It says he told her that he killed Brashers, and then staged the car accident to get away with it. He had pulled the car off of the road during their drive and began beating her. He then said, "Why won't you die? Why won't you die?" He then got on top of her and using his forearms he began to push down on her throat to stop her breathing and attempted to break her neck.
According to the affidavit, Walters then put Brashers back into the driver's seat and unclipped her seat belt. He drove to a dark residential street in Denver and slammed on the gas, crashing the car. After the accident he got out and began screaming and crying out for people to help his girlfriend.
The trial is expected to last about a week.
