Watch CBS News

Tom Fallis Found Not Guilty In Murder Trial

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) - Jurors on Thursday found a former sheriff's deputy not guilty of killing his wife in 2012.

The jury deliberated for about three hours before acquitting Tom Fallis, now 36, of second-degree murder in the death of Ashley Fallis after a New Year's Eve party in their home in Evans.

Tom Fallis
Tom Fallis in court (credit: CBS)

During closing arguments, defense attorney Iris Eytan told jurors the former Weld County correctional officer loved his wife and argued that she took her own life, pointing to a suicide note she had written months before her death.

But Chief District Attorney Anthea Carrasco argued that did not fit with what she called the key evidence in the case — the amount of blood found in the couple's bedroom and on Tom Fallis' shirt.

Tom Fallis Ashley Fallis
Tom and Ashley Fallis are seen dancing in this video shown during Tom's murder trial. (credit: CBS)

Jurors heard conflicting testimony about that over the past two weeks.

This week, retired Denver police investigator Jonathyn Priest testified the amount of blood found on a bedroom wall indicates Tom Fallis was either in contact with his wife or near her when she suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head on Jan. 1, 2012. But last week, Larimer County crime scene investigator Dan Gilliam said he thought the blood found on the wall and clothes as well as the trajectory of the bullet were consistent with a suicide.

Ashley Fallis' death was initially ruled a suicide, but her parents have long pushed for her death to be re-examined. The case was reopened after a teenage neighbor said he overheard Tom Fallis confess. He was brought back to Colorado from Bloomington, Indiana, where he moved with his three children, to face the accusations.

Ashley Fallis
Ashley Fallis (credit: CBS)

Neighbor Nick Glover, who was 15 when Ashley Fallis died, testified that he overheard his neighbor confess to shooting his wife as he was crouched beneath an open window.

However, the Evans police officer who interviewed Glover, his sister and their mother said none of them mentioned anything about a confession.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.