Episode 16-Kelsie Schelling

Amand: Hey there, all you true crime fans. I'm Amanda. Kori: And I'm Kori. Amand: This is Colorado crime. If you're new here, we cover cases from coast to coast with a special emphasis on cases that happen right here in colorful, crime filled Colorado. If you're returning, thanks for being here. Kori: Jokes. Amand: Yes. Kori: Okay, ready? Amand: Absolutely. Kori: I was addicted to the hokey pokey, but I turned myself around. Amand: I love it. I'm going to use that one. I have to remember it. I'm going to call my dad and tell him he appreciates all these. Kori: A little joke therapy. Before we talk about murder. Amand: I have to talk about two things before we jump in. Kori: Okay. Amand: The first one, I lied to you guys last week when I said it was gracie the horse who had the baby. I lied and I knew I lied, and I just didn't realize it until after it was trudy who had the horse baby, and her name is penelope, and she's still about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Kori: Nice. Amand: I know. And second, I owe you an apology, cory. Kori: Why? Amand: Because I have noticed that I do a lot of, like, talking over you. So, guys, I promise I'm going to be better, and I'm not going to talk over corey. Kori: Oh, I didn't know it. I didn't notice. But I guess I would notice because you edit. Amand: I know. So I'm going to actively try not to talk over you. Kori: You're so rude. Amand: I know. I'm doing it now. Kori: I know. It's fine. Go ahead. Froggy your throat. Amand: Yeah, I was just going to say I have a sore throat, so my voice sounds a little froggy today. Like a froggy mouse. Kori: I don't know. Amand: I wasn't bullied this week for my mouse voice, though. Kori: Oh, good. Kids are mean. Amand: I know. Kori: Adults are mean. Kids are mean. Like, what have we learned this week? Amand: Everybody'S mean. I was driving to pats today and I saw the most perfect license plate. So whoever you are, you have the best license plate. It said H eight, like hate. It said ppl for people. Kori: Oh, that's nice. I wonder if I can get it to say hate people. Like one. Amand: I know, I want to be hate people, too. Okay, I thought it was really funny. Kori: On a side note that this has nothing to relate to anything, but I'm taking my nails off today, and I'm going to try that since I stay at home all day. I'm going to try that polygel thing that you see on Facebook. Amand: Oh, yes. Kori: Yeah, I'm going to try that and see how it works. Amand: It, like, has the nail forms and then you squeeze eachube oh, cool. Let's see how it works. Kori: Yeah. Save myself some money. Amand: Yeah, you have to send me a picture. Kori: Okay, I will. Amand: I will not be saving myself money. If you guys are looking for a good nail girl, katie at the Pink Door is amazing. Kori: Nice. Amand: I mean, you can't go wrong with any of the girls at the Pink Door, but I will not save money. I go every two weeks. Kori: I haven't found a nail place that I really want to go to out here yet, so I'm going to try it myself for a while and see how that works out. Amand: I'm excited for you. Kori: Yeah. Plus, we're doing a lot of, like, home stuff, like painting and stuff like that. And you know how nails are with painting, and I don't want to pay $75 to get my nails done then have paint all over them. Amand: Fair. I do love painting. Kori: Yeah, I know you do. Amand: It's like, my favorite. Kori: Can come out here and paint some stuff. Amand: I totally will. I love the paint. That's what I asked for for valentine's Day. Which. Happy valentine's Day. Kori: Oh, yeah. Happy valentine's Day to you, too. Amand: Thanks. I asked for scaffolding. Kori: Oh, yeah, I remember you were saying that. Are you getting that? Amand: No. Chris said no, probably not. Kori: It's a hard thing to do when you're home by yourself. Jump up on the scaffolding. Amand: Oh, I don't even mind. Kori: What if you die? Amand: Well, then someone will find my body. Kori: I mean, everybody has to come home eventually, right? Amand: True. Kori: Never mind. Amand: Alarm bells would go off when I didn't show up to pick my kids up from school. Kori: Maybe she's done with them. Amand: She's threatened for years. Kori: They're like, oh, that Amanda didn't pick up her kids. Who else do we call? No one. Amand: Well, you're now a sanction of the church children. They probably like it. Kori: They would enjoy that. Amand: Nick would be like, woohoo. I don't know. He got a chicken squish mellow for valentine's Day. I think he'd be pretty sad without it. He loves chickens and squish mellows. Oh, gosh, yeah. Kori: He's those cool squish mellow headphones. Amand: I know. He does love those. He wears them all the time. My mother in law, she has chickens, and Lincoln just loves them. Kori: You don't want chickens. Can you have them at your house? Amand: No. Kori: Oh, that's weird. You live on farmland. Amand: I know. I live on an acre of land and I can't have anything. Kori: That's stupid. Amand: I know. I think I've decided, though, that I would like a mini pony or a llama. Well, you can't have either. Kori: Get on your HOA board and make some changes. I told my old office neighbor that I was going to. There's no HOA out here. The town is the HOA, so they control your stuff. Which is interesting, by the way, but that's a different tangent. But my old office neighbor told me that I should get, like, a green golf cart and drive around with it. That just says Neighborhood HOA and then write people tickets. Amand: Yeah. Kori: I'm like, well, I don't have anything else to do, so maybe you should. Amand: Write people tickets for being bad. parkers right. Kori: I live in a neighborhood of retirees, so that will be exciting. Amand: Oh, no, you'd be caught so fast. No, you got all these, like, gladys kravitz looking out their windows at you. Kori: Pretty much. There's an old guy across the street, and he walks up I don't know what time he gets up, but he's usually pulling in when I happen to be looking outside. And then he gets out of his car. He opens one of his garage doors. He has a three car garage door, and they all have their own doors. And he'll get out, and he will walk around, like, inside his garage and then outside around the driveway, like, 15 times. And then he'll look at his watch, walk one more, and then he'll go inside. Amand: Hey, maybe he has an Apple Watch and he's just getting his steps in. Kori: I know that every day. Amand: I like him. Kori: It's entertaining. Amand: I think we should call him Dennis. Okay. We should just name all of your old retirees. Yeah. And all their weird quirks. Kori: Yeah. Amand: Dennis is the walker. Kori: Yeah, there's Dennis. And then our next door neighbor, she came over because we accidentally left our garage door open. And she came over and she was like, hey, you guys left your garage door open. I called the police to come and shut it because I wasn't sure if something bad happened to you. And I was like, okay. Amand: Wow. Kori: So she's like, when I first moved this neighborhood, it was a bunch of retirees. And I looked at her a little bit and she goes, I felt some type of way about it. So now, candace, a nice big joke is, do you feel some type of way about that? Because why can't you just say, I feel like this was a bad thing, or I feel why do you have to say, I feel some type of way? What does that even mean? Amand: Yeah, what does that mean? Kori: I don't have any idea. Amand: I think she's saying that you guys are too young to be there. They're going to start a petition. Pitch forks and torches. Kori: Like Beauty and the Beast. Amand: Yeah. Get the young ins out. Kori: Okay. On to some crime. Amand: Cool. Well, let's go with some true crime world updates. Okay, here's what we haven't talked about yet. So, a garland, Texas man named Richard acosta was convicted last week of capital murder and sentenced immediately to life in prison without the possibility of parole after his then 14 year old son shot and killed three teenagers and injured another in a convenience store in December of 2021. Richard actually drove his son to and from the store, so he didn't actually pull the trigger, but he waited in the car as his son ran in and then opened fire on these four teenagers. So richard's son, his name is abel, he actually ran in, shot the teenagers, and then ran back out to the car, telling his dad to drive, drive. That someone was shooting at him. And all along it was this dumb kid who killed three of his teenage friends. I don't know if they were friends, but three other teenagers. Richard actually maintains that he did not know his son had killed anyone. abel has been on the run since the shooting and is still at large currently. Richard maintains that he does not know where his son is. And I just have to say that I am in full support of this. So I don't want to, like, open a can of worms, because we don't actually have time for that. But I think the dad accomplish because that's kind of what he is, got a fair punishment. Kori: I do too. I think that should happen more often, because then maybe parents would stop paying start paying more attention to their kids. Like, please know what your kids are doing. Like, if your kid went out and shot somebody, I'd expect you to pay the price for that. He's 14. He's not old enough to get a gun. Where did he get that gun? From your house? I don't know. Amand: I feel like parents are so worried about friending their kids right now, and I am not at all a perfect parent, and I will never, ever say that I am or claim to be. But you just got to parent your kids. They're not supposed to like you right now. When they're adults, fine, go pal around with them. But your job right now is to parent them and to make sure that they grow into a decent human. And I'm sorry, but he failed his son, and he failed those four other kids, which means he failed his community. Kori: When my kid was younger, we were not her, and Candice and I, we were not friends. We loved her. We parented her, but we weren't her friend. We wouldn't have given her to yes. Our job was to make sure she grew up into a decent adult and a great person. Oh, yeah. You're not supposed to be your kid's friend. Can you imagine? Lincoln comes home, and he's like, hey, Mom, I need you to drive me to this gas station. Sure, no problem. He picks out the gun out of your safe in the garage or wherever and takes it to the gas station and shoots up people, and you're like, good job, and now go on the run. So we don't know where you are. Amand: So we don't know where you are. So you're still a danger to everybody. It makes me think of columbine, and unfortunately, I think those parents should have seen a little bit more ramifications than they saw, because, really, they didn't see any no. And those boys planned it, and we should maybe actually cover that. Kori: Okay. Amand: As a case, if gemini ramsay didn't suck me in, it was absolutely columbine. Kori: Right. That was a pretty terrible day. Amand: Oh, it was so scary. My mom was supposed to be there. Kori: Oh, dear. Yeah, I can't imagine that. Okay, well, my interesting crime world update is about this 14 year old that was found after she'd been missing for a year. The Us. marshals found a teenager that had been reported missing a year ago from her foster home. She was found hidden in a closet in a Michigan home. She was reportedly taken from the foster home by her biological mother. She had been missing for more than 17 months when she was taken to the hospital. She was also reported to be four to five months pregnant. By the way, she's 14 now, so chew on that. And the legal age of consent in Michigan is 16. Authorities are pursuing charges against her mother for kidnapping. Amand: I wonder why your mom lost custody. Kori: I don't know that it didn't really have much about that part in there. It just had that she was missing and they found her hiding in a weird closet. And can you imagine being pregnant? Whose baby is that? She's just now 14. Amand: People are disgusting. Kori: Right? So I guess she has been reunited with her dad. Oh, good. Yeah. Amand: I'm glad. Hopefully she kind of gets her life back on track. Kori: I'm not sure why she was in foster care. Amand: I don't know. Kori: It didn't really say anything about that either. Amand: Very sad. I'm glad that she's back with her dad. Kori: Me too. Amand: Now she can get proper medical care, and hopefully whoever the creep is who knocked her up gets some yeah. Some jail time, because you yeah, right. Kori: Gross. No, thanks. Amand: I agree. Kori: So did you watch the football game during the rihanna concert? Amand: I did not. I didn't watch either. Kori: Oh, I watched it. And now I've seen rihanna in concert. It was really, really good. I get that she was pregnant, but she could have brought some guests out or something. It was kind of boring. Amand: I think she didn't put enough effort in. Kori: Right. Amand: But she's still good. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, she's Queen Re. Of course she's good. I can't believe her and asap Rocky are having another baby. Kori: I know. Gross. Amand: She just had that baby in March. They had their son, and now they're having another baby and like, whoa. sings her back to back. Kori: I mean, she is 38. Amand: Oh, God, I wish I was that good at 38. Kori: Right? Amand: Here's the hoping. Kori: Yes. Amand: All these late nights and coffee. I couldn't sleep last night. Kori: Oh, no. Amand: So I got up and I upgraded my operating system on my computer. Kori: Oh, nice. Good for you. Myself. Amand: I know. Kori: Insomnia. Amand: I don't know. I think it was because my stepdad moved today, so it was like, oh, yeah, I was, like, sad. And then I was spicy, and there was a lot I'm thinking that's what it was. And I was super excited for the kids to wake up this morning for valentine's Day. So I'm, like, putting everything out super quietly. And I wrote in my little cards and I got Chris a balloon and a spoon. Oh, I know. Kori: What kind of spoon? Amand: So I get him a spoon every, like, almost every holiday. Kori: That's weird. Amand: I know. I follow this girl on Instagram. Her name is the sassy barn, and she does these engraved spoons, and she always releases different collections. And so this one says, you're my cup of tea. Kori: Oh, that's cute. Amand: I know. So you got that and feminine Ms and a balloon. Kori: Oh, that's nice. Amand: I know. And I got a plant, and it's really cute. But not scaffolding. Kori: No, I got candice too. She really wanted those, like, quarter zip jackets. And it's really windy here. Like, probably 75% of the time. It's windy. Amand: It is a windy city. Kori: Yeah, it's windy. So I got her one that's like a windbreaker type of jacket, and it comes with a hood because it rains here too. It's rainy and windy, and sometimes it's rainy and windy at the same time. Yeah, that's pretty fun. Like today, it's supposed to be, like, 52, but it's windy, so it's whatever. So it's like a windbreaker, like, rain jacket. And then I got her, like, a fleece one because she can wear it to work. It's a little nicer looking. Yeah. Amand: Well, that sounds fun. Kori: Yeah. Amand: What did you get? Kori: It's supposed to be delivered. It's probably that Ups package that my dogs were barking at that I didn't go look at Share. I mean, whatever. Amand: All right, well, let's go ahead and jump into this week's case. It's a big one, so you might be here for a while. It's a coffee time with Colorado crime. Kori: Are you going to get shirts? Amand: I think I should make shirts. I should make that happen. Kori: You should. I also want to shout out to your mom, congratulations on your engagement. Yeah, I know. Amand: Congrats, poopoo. Kori: Yeah. I love your mom. She's a great lady. We're friends on Facebook. Amand: Hey, we're also friends on Facebook. We go back away, I guess. Kori: I mean, whatever. Your mom is pretty cool. Amand: I know. Kori: She has really good salsa. Amand: Oh, she does. Kori: All right, let's jump into it. buckle up, buttercup. I'm just making stuff up now. Amand: I liked it. Kori: Thanks. Amand: So this week, we are discussing the disappearance of Kelsey shelling. This is a case that rocked Colorado back in 2013. Kelsey shelling was a 21 year old woman from Denver, Colorado. Kelsey was a beautiful soul who was just starting out her life journey. She met the man that would soon become her murderer at northeastern Junior College in 2010, kelsey and Dante Lucas dated on and off for about two years. Then they decided to leave school just after the new year. In 2013, Kelsey surprised her family with news that she was pregnant, as any mother would be. kelsey's mom, Laura, was happy and surprised at the news. She told her daughter that she would support her. Whether Dante was in the picture or not, everyone knew their relationship was tumultuous, and they were constantly fighting and making up. Regardless, Kelsey was excited to be having a baby. Kelsey was last seen behind the wheel of her 2011 black chevy cruze. ugh. So, obviously, like, I know what happens, but I really do wish this story would have gone a different way. Kori: Me, too. And shout out to all the people who gave us a suggestion to cover this case. It's a really good one. It impacts a lot of people, and it's sad, too. Amand: It is sad. Kori: Yeah. So on February 3 of 2013, according to text message records, dante tried to convince Kelsey to drive from Denver to pueblo, where he lived, to get a surprise gift that he had for her. First of all, that's a long gas drive, and no present is worth that. Amand: No. Kori: Just in case anybody is one, three, he texted her, quote, I don't want to fight at all. I just want to give you this. Just wait and see for yourself. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway, so you can just see it for yourself. unquote. So being a pregnant woman, just wanting the father of her child to love her and the baby after she got off work that night, and by the way, 840 p. M. She decided to make the two hour drive to see Dante in pueblo. According to text message records, he texted her instructions to meet him at a specific Walmart on the south side of town. Kelsey sent her last confirmed text message to Dante, 11:18 p.m.. It said, quote, Where are you? I've been here over an hour just waiting. Dante responded to meet him at an intersection near his grandma's home, where she frequently picked him up at. So let's talk about some of the text messages that were sent from kelsey's phone. A few text messages were exchanged, but family and friends felt that the diction was off. The punctuation and phrases that were used were not common for Kelsey. On February 5, a coworker sent a text to Kelsey asking about her doctor appointment and was told by Kelsey that the baby was growing in the wrong place, unquote. And that she had miscarried. The coworker tried to call Kelsey later that day to check on her, but the call went unanswered. On February 5, a text from Kelsey to Dante read, thanks for caring. I miscarried Dante. Nice to know you didn't care about the baby. On February 6, Kelsey received a text message from a friend who was asking about how Kelsey was feeling. She got a response that Kelsey was tired and trying to sleep. That same day, kelsey's dad tried to reach out to her. He tried to call her, but she didn't answer and didn't call back. She sent a text message to him saying, I'm not feeling good laying on the couch. The phone calls continued when Kelsey didn't show up for work on the Fifth, her manager called several times, but those calls went unanswered. Kelsey was only communicating via text message. Amand: Laura, kelsey's mom, had gone down to kelsey's downtown apartment, but Kelsey wasn't home. No one was able to reach her either. Laura called Dante in a panic. Dante told Laura they had been together, but they had gotten into a fight and Kelsey left town. He also told Laura that Kelsey had suffered a miscarriage and was treated at parkview Medical Center. He assured Laura that he would call if Kelsey reached out to him, and she did. Supposedly, he called kelsey's mom, dad and brother and told them that Kelsey had reached out. She had called and told Dante that she would call her family later. Dante failed to mention that at this time, he was still in possession of kelsey's car phone and bank card. Later, police would pull GPS on Kelsey and dante's phone, showing the two were together on the night of her disappearance. In fact, there were several times that the phones showed they were together. From February 4 to the 7th, the couple's phones overlapped in the same area and were often interacting with each other. It was also discovered that on the night of kelsey's disappearance, dante drove kelsey's car to the bank and used her card to withdraw $400 in cash from kelsey's account. Surveillance footage from the bank only shows a male occupant, not Kelsey. After Dante took the money, he returned kelsey's car to the Walmart parking lot. When investigators were reviewing surveillance footage from the Walmart parking lot, they saw a hooded male figure move kelsey's car on February 7. kelsey's car was later found abandoned on valentine's Day 2013, in a parking lot of a hospital, which would give credit to dante's story that she was treated for a miscarriage, except for the fact that the car was found parked at St. Mary corwin Medical Center. And he told kelsey's mom that she was treated at parkview Medical Center. When claims of her treatment were looked into, neither hospital had any record of Kelsey shelling ever being a patient there. Kori: That's weird. Like, why would you say that? Amand: Right? Those are things that can be checked up on, right? Kori: So after that, Laura called the Denver Police Department and reported her daughter missing. Police reached out to Dante on February 9, but unfortunately, this call wasn't recorded. The next day, police called Dante again. This time, the call was recorded. The same day, February 10, laura received a call from Denver pd's missing person specialist. They informed her that they would begin on the case the next day. kelsey's family was quick to look for her. A Facebook page was created, simply titled Help Find Kelsey. Laura began looking into kelsey's bank records, and kelsey's dad and brother headed to pueblo to talk to dante's grandmother and other family. kelsey's brother colby requested a welfare check to be done on his sister. Amand: So two things. First, I think that them driving down there was maybe not the best idea, especially knowing what we know now. Kori: Right. Amand: But I do think him requesting a welfare check was such a smart thing to do. Seriously, if you guys are concerned about a friend or a family member, whether it pertains to mental health or to you not hearing from them, it doesn't matter anything. You can always call your local authorities and ask for a welfare check to be performed on that individual. It really is a great first step to get the ball rolling. Kori: I totally agree about that. Your local law enforcement is there to help when you need them. Just call. And also, like we said in a previous podcast, you don't have to wait 24 hours to report somebody missing. If you don't hear from them, you can report them missing right away. In fact, people would prefer that because it gets you a better jump on looking for someone. Even if they're not really missing and you find them two or four, 6 hours later, at least you know where they are. Amand: Right. And you have a better chance of finding them within the sooner time period versus waiting several days and then reporting. Kori: Right? So anyway, an officer reported to dante's mom's house where he was babysitting. Kelsey was still nowhere to be found. This was about the time that pueblo began to realize they might have a situation on their hands. Amand: So then kelsey's car is discovered at the hospital. The seats were all the way back, like someone tall was driving, which we know that Dante was tall, but Kelsey was only five three. There was no way that she would have been able to reach the pedals from where the seat was located. On February 15, Dante Lucas was arrested for the first time relating to Kelsey. He was charged with three counts of felony identity theft for using kelsey's bank card. He had withdrawn the $400 from her account. However, those charges were dropped due to the fact that she sometimes gave him permission to use the card and he was released. At this point, there was still no sign of Kelsey anywhere, and Dante continued to say he didn't know what happened to her. kelsey's mom, Laura, led her own searches in pueblo. She made the 220 miles drive on the regular from where she lived in yuma. At this point, it was 2015, and she was still classified as a missing person. Since the police had no body or any direct evidence to change it to a homicide. Then, of course, there were the scams targeting Laura and many other parents of missing people into giving money for information or the actual location of their missing loved one. So this is where Lauren Sir becomes part of the story. She had no connection to the case at all, but she wanted to see if she could get any information from Dante about Kelsey. Her plan was to befriend him and get him to tell her where Kelsey was, so she messaged him on Facebook, which podcast disclaimer here, guys, we do not recommend this. This is so unsafe. You could literally be toying with a murderer. So again, not recommended. Do not do this. After a couple of weeks, she got close to him and stated that 1 minute he was saying that he had no involvement, and then the next, he would shut down and start crying hysterically. He even told Lauren that him and Kelsey did cocaine together and he liked her because she paid for everything. Then her undercover relationship turned into a romance. She said that she felt like he really did have feelings for her and that she got to see a side of him that maybe most people didn't. She stated that they dated for a year, and then he asked her to marry him. She said she would have to think about it and then only reached out to him to break it off. Kori: Again, we would like to reiterate that this is not a way to get someone to confess to you. It's very dangerous. Very, very dangerous. He already killed one girlfriend. Do you really want to be the second one? What is wrong with you? Amand: Right? Kori: I don't get it. Do not befriend murderers. No. Amand: How do you not realize he is literally being looked at for murder? Kori: Right. Amand: It's like all those people who are writing those jailhouse love letters to Chris watts right. Or Rose. Kori: Right. Or to Charles manson, what is wrong with you? Amand: Right. Kori: No. Amand: Bad news, guys. Stay away. Kori: And then for a whole year, like, oh, good Lord. Amand: Right? Kori: You know, she had to like him a little bit. Amand: Oh, absolutely. It didn't cross your mind that he had gotten rid of one girl? You were just like, well, you know, she probably had it coming to her. Kori: Right. He's different with me. Amand: Right. And don't victim blame. I hate that. It's like the 70s when prostitutes would go missing, and they were like, well, they lived a dangerous lifestyle, right. Kori: There's still people. Yeah. So 2016, the police department learned that Lauren had been dating him. So they got information from her that Dante had told her that he was with Kelsey in her car after the evening of the fourth and that he moved her car himself. She also said that he told her that he was the one on the video surveillance dropping her car off at the hospital. Then in 2017, there was another huge development in the case. A man reported that Dante and some of his family members attacked him in front of dante's family home and stole $1,000 from him. So the pueblo Police Department knew that they had to work fast. Amand: Hold on. Who just carries $1,000 around with them? Kori: Well, here in the good old state of Illinois, you've got to carry cash with you because they charge you 3.5% to use your credit card for restaurants. If it's. Like a small mom and pop restaurant. Amand: Wow. I didn't have that. Kori: So you get a discount if you use cash. Amand: That's interesting. Kori: But this was also 2017, so I don't know. Well, drug. Drug. Amand: Yeah. That's crazy. Kori: I would never not to profile, but people that use drugs carry a lot of money. Amand: But if you carry a lot of money, we're not saying that you're a drug user dealer. Kori: No, we're just saying you have a. Amand: Lot of money and it's not a good idea. Don't carry cash like that. That's crazy to me. Sorry. Go on. Kori: I guess the pueblo Police Department received information that Dante was going to leave pueblo with some of his family members and go to tucson. So they were concerned that once he got to Arizona, he might make some plans to go to Mexico. It's just a hop, skip, and a jump away. So they decided to write an arrest warrant for the robbery of the man in front of the family home. They managed to get Dante 20 minutes before his flight was ready to leave. Then while he was in custody, he admitted to the police that he had indeed picked up kelsey's car and dropped it off at the hospital. At this point, they reviewed that admission along with text message records, all the surveillance footage, and about 60,000 pages of investigative material, and they decided they had enough to charge him finally. Amand: Jeez. Kori: I know, right? Amand: I guess I'm kind of impressed it's. Kori: Only been four years, right? Amand: I guess I'm impressed that they had 60,000 pages of investigative material, though. It kind of seemed like they didn't have really anything. Yeah, they didn't really take it seriously. They kind of figured, like, oh, she just left. Kori: She was a 20 year old year old that just took off. Amand: Right. Kori: I think him with all that surveillance video was kind of like the thing, though, where he was, like, in her car by himself, so it never showed her and him together. Amand: Right. Kori: Yeah. Amand: Well, on December 1, 2017, two weeks after his arrest for the robbery, dante Lucas was charged with first degree murder. It wasn't so cut and dry, though. It would be years before he would go to trial. He didn't actually go to trial until February 3 of 2021. Kori: COVID time. Good for him. Amand: I know. That's crazy, though. Kori: He probably would have gone before, but 2020 was COVID, and 2021, we still kind of had COVID, but not a lot. And it's affiliate I don't know. Yeah, we didn't have a lot of trials either. Amand: No, everything kind of got pushed. Kori: Yeah. Everything was video, which is cool. That's how they should do it all the time. We went to that right before I left. Almost everything was video. It's so much safer. Yeah, it really is. It's safer for the transporting officers. It's safer for the inmates. It's safer for the public. Like, it's so much easier. They turned a bunch of rooms into video courtrooms. It's such a good idea. Even out of counties we did video, they could see the other county via video. Amand: I think that's a great idea. Kori: I think so, too. Amand: I think it cuts down the risk of, like, escape and anybody hurt. Yeah, I like that idea. Me too, personally. Well, the prosecution argued that Dante didn't want kelsey to have their child because it would ruin his chance of getting into the NBA. So he killed her before that could happen, which he wasn't even that good basketball. He had played, like, in college, but he was never even, like, on the radar, but whatever. A friend of dante's. His name was Robert rivera. He was incarcerated with him. He actually testified for the prosecution. So it's important to note here, though, that, like, jailhouse snitches, they're not often considered credible because they're usually getting a deal out of it, and that's why they're agreeing to testify. But in this case, rivera didn't he didn't actually receive a deal at all. He just said that they were once playing cards, and Dante said that they would never find kelsey's body. He also stated that Dante confessed to the killing. Some of kelsey's friends also testified that Dante was abusive and that he constantly used kelsey for money, her apartment, and her car. Surprisingly, though, the defense didn't deny these claims. They did try to claim, though, that kelsey was addicted to drugs, and that when she left the Walmart that night, she was going to meet up with a drug dealer. None of the other witnesses said that she was into drugs or was even considered like a party girl, and she. Kori: Didn'T have any of that stuff or information on her phone. Like duh. If you're going to make up something, make up something that could be, like that can't be disputed. Amand: Right. But all they're trying to do is plant reasonable doubt. Kori: Right. Amand: Which is so stupid to me. Kori: Right. Here is an interesting fact. On February 25, 2021, one of the prosecution's witnesses, roxanne Martinez, was shot and killed. However, after some investigation, it was revealed that her murderer did not have anything to do with the trial. But no one knows what she was going to say. But apparently she had reached out in 2013 on Facebook to kelsey's mom, saying that she used to date Dante and that he had told her where kelsey's body was. Lauren roxanne had tried to meet, but roxanne called and said that she was in the hospital and that she couldn't meet her. I feel like that's kind of interesting. I know that they said her murder wasn't part of it, didn't have anything to do with the trial, but it does seem suspicious. Amand: I agree. That's easy. So your key witness dies right before trial, right before she can testify? Kori: Yeah. Supposedly not part of the trial. I don't know. Amand: Right. Kori: I find that whole thing fishy. Amand: Right. She either had like, the worst luck ever, right? Or it's suspicious. Kori: Yeah, so suspicious. Amand: This is my first day talking. Kori: Mine does a little song for you. Amand: Thank you. I appreciate it. Kori: You're welcome. No problem. Amand: Don't get me through the talking of the rest of this. Kori: Are we editing this out or are we keeping it because it's pretty cool? Amand: I don't know. We'll have to see what it sounds like because I just said suspicious in the middle of something that didn't make any sense. Sorry. Kori: Sometimes our podcasts are just a lot of talking. Amand: I know. Kori: Whatever. Amand: I'm sorry, guys. We'll be better. Kori: No, we won't. Amand: No, we're like your best friends. You just want to hear your best friends. Like, I get on here and I'm like, oh, yeah. I get so excited that we want to just talk all the time and tell you guys everything, and it's probably why I talk over you. I really am sorry. Kori: That's okay. Amand: I don't mean to. Kori: I do enjoy I know. I do enjoy that. Since we've been, like, more I'm going to say this on the air. freeballing it. Amand: You're all welcome. Kori: That our podcasts are more interesting and longer. Yes, shout out to people who wanted it longer expecting. Amand: But it gives you guys, like, an idea of who we are, how good. Kori: Of friends we are. Amand: Yeah, because really, we are best friends. So it really is like you guys are like we're all in a room together, because this is really what it sounds like when we're together. All of us are. A little louder, though. Kori: Yeah. More obnoxious. Amand: Yeah. Kori: And we're trying to eat something. We're not eating anything here. Amand: Like those little roll up things that you made at the Halloween party, like, 100 years ago. I did love them. Kori: The lettuce ones. I know. Those were your favorite. Amand: I know. It's fine. Kori: When you come out here, maybe I'll make them again. Amand: You don't have to tempt me with a good time. I already told kristen, like, maybe for spring break, we'll just go to Corey. Kori: That's fine. Amand: Chris was like, I'm working. And I'm like, well, if that's unfortunate for you, you'll be fine. Kori: I'll leave one kid here, take the other kid with me. Amand: I know, right? I know. Problem is, like, leaving here without luna, she'll be devastated if I come visit you. And she doesn't get to come. She loves you. Kori: I know. She is the best dog. Amand: She just loves you. Kori: She's so tiny. Amand: She's so naughty. naughty. Kori: So let's get back to it. Amand: Yeah. Kori: We interrupted our regularly scheduled program with a side note, so they did have Lauren serge testify as well. So she testified about what he had told her during their one year relationship, and dumb. They also played the interrogation tape for the jury, which is probably good. So after only 13 days of trial, the case went to the jury. It was later revealed that the jury reached a unanimous decision on their first vote in just under 3 hours. That is a record. Amand: That's pretty impressive. Kori: It really is. They were like, if this we'd like to go home. Amand: Well, you can't deny. I mean, there was gobs and gobs of evidence against him. Kori: So he was actually found guilty of first degree murder on March 8 of 2021 and was sentenced immediately to life in prison without parole. I think that fast sentencing is where it's at. I don't enjoy the fact where they are found guilty and then like, three months later, they get sentenced. You all know what's going to happen. Just sentence him and move on. He's guilty of first degree murder. There's no other sentence he's going to get. Just be done with it. Why are we prolonging the agony for all of us? Amand: That's what I was going to say. Because I've never been in a situation where this would be relevant at all. Kori: Right. Amand: But I feel like if I were the family of a victim, I would want to know immediately. I wouldn't want to wait three months. It would almost feel like another punch right to the gut where you're like, okay, great, you're guilty. Cool. We're coming back in three months. Not only are you traumatized from sitting in this courtroom and listening to awful testimony from other people and you're seeing photos, and not necessarily in this case, but you're reliving that and now you have to come back. I just think it would be really hard to do. Kori: Yeah. I just think it's ridiculous. There's only one sentence you're going to get on first degree murder anyway, right? Might as well just sentence it right there and be done with it, right? Amand: Do you get parole or do you not get parole? Kori: Those are your options. Amand: Really? Kori: Yeah. So as of this podcast, they have still never found kelsey's body, and Dante has never told anyone where she is. I honestly think that would probably that's probably the hardest part of this whole podcast is that she's still out there somewhere and no one knows anything. The one person that does know anything is being a **** about it and not saying anything. Hopefully, and I hope this with all my soul, that someday the guilt will overwhelm him and that he will eventually say where her body is. And I hope her ghost haunts him every single night. Amand: I hope so too. What a weiner he is. Kori: I know. It's so irritating. It is irritating to say it. You've already been convicted. Just say where she is and be over it. Amand: Right. Kori: Her soul can go wherever souls go. Her family can grieve. That exactly, exactly. Amand: Until you find a body, no matter. I mean, he's convicted, he's sitting in prison. They're still hoping that there's a chance that she's alive somewhere. Kori: Right. Amand: You know, until they have that body that says otherwise, that's what I would do. Kori: Right. I don't know. It's just horrible. The whole thing is just a sad, sad story. Amand: It is sad because her mom just raves about her in every interview that I've seen. Her mom just, like, thought she hung the moon. Kori: You lost two people that day. Really, if we're being honest. They lost Chelsea and they lost their unborn grandchild. It's so sucky and so hard, and I'm just glad that I have never been on the end of that. And I am so sorry for all the people who have been on the end of that. Amand: Me, too. I think we have to cover Chris watts giving me total Chris watts. Yeah. Kori: That wasn't too far from my house. Amand: Frederick no, it wasn't far from mine either. Yeah, it was like a stone throw away. Kori: Crazy ****. Just an fyi to everybody. Divorce is easier. Please don't murder. Just get a divorce. You can do that's. What? Amand: I think. So Chris and I had, like, this because this is who I am as a person. We have this whole conversation and I was like, if you ever decided, like, god, I ******* hate her, it would be so much easier if she were dead, just tell me. This is where I'm at with you. Let's get a divorce. And please just keep it amicable. Kori: I'd be like, okay, cool, right? You don't have to kill me. Amand: You don't have to kill me. Let me live. Kori: And if you are going to kill somebody, please don't tell us. Amand: Yes, don't tell us. I don't want any confessions. I will tell you. Kori: We're not the priest. We're not going to hold your secrets. Amand: Yeah, I couldn't imagine doing that either. Kori: No. Being a priest? Amand: Yeah. No way. Kori: I am a minister. Amand: That is true. You are? Kori: Yeah. Amand: Who did you marry? Kori: I haven't married anybody. I haven't really done anything with my minister license. So if you want to get married, let me know. I'm an ordained minister. Or I can perform a funeral if you'd like that, too. Amand: Oh, my God. Kori: Yeah, I can do all of those things. I have a handy book and everything. Amand: If you guys want to laugh at a funeral, corey is your go to. Kori: You could just call me Reverend Corey. Amand: Oh, gosh. I feel like we need to start calling you, like, rev Run. Kori: Yeah, we could call me Revcore. Amand: We could. I'm a notary, which isn't nearly as cool as being an ordained I'm not a notary. Kori: I let my notary expire because I didn't want to take the stupid test. Amand: Yeah, I sat through the whole thing and I was like, wow. But I guess I appreciate it because I don't want some nimbly bimboty notarizing everything and changing all sorts of stuff and being all unethical, which they're still able to do. Then I feel like it's just like bad juju. Yeah, it's always bad juju. Kori: It is. Don't just notarize people's stuff. So I want to give a little shout out to my friend Amber priestley. She just started listening to this podcast. Hello, Amber. Amand: Thanks, Amber. Kori: Yeah, she texted me on messenger, and she did review us on or she did leave a review, a star review on spotify because that's her platform. I also want to shout out, she has a little craft business. It's called Rocky Mountain country crafts. She's on Facebook and Instagram. I hope she's okay with me shouting that out. Amand: Heck yeah. Kori: It's rocky Mountain Country Craft boutique. She does cute little, like, signs and just cute little things. It's really adorable. I've bought quite a few things from her. Little wreaths and some yard signs and stuff. So shout out to Amber. Thanks for the stars. We appreciate that. Amand: Did you know that I went by Amber for, like, three years when I lived at my old house? Because my neighbor kept calling me Amber, and I did not have the heart to tell him. Kori: So my old job at the bail bond company, we had a mailman. Her name was teresa. Or no, her name was teresa. And then on the days that she wasn't there, we had a substitute mailman. And I can't remember his name, but for the sake of the story, we'll call him Kevin. So Kevin called me the wrong name the entire time I work there. Amand: Oh, no. Kori: He called me I don't even remember what it was. carrie maybe or something. But one day he comes in and he's like, oh, my gosh, I am so sorry. I've been calling you the wrong name this whole time. And I'm like, yeah, you have. And he's like, why did you say anything? And I said, well, by the time I realized that you were calling me the wrong name, it would have been too awkward to be like, hey, buddy, I know it's been two years, but my name is Corey, not Terry. He's like, yeah. Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. And he's like, I only knew that because I was talking to the other male person, teresa. And she's like, who are you talking about? There's nobody by that name. Her name is Corey. And he's like, oh, my God, I've been calling her the wrong name this whole time. Amand: You were kind of close, though. I mean, it wasn't like you were like you were Theresa. Kori: Yeah, I don't know if it was carrie. I can't really remember. But it was the wrong name. Definitely. It was not Corey at all. And my boss was like, he's calling you that? And I'm like, yeah, he thinks that's what my name is, so don't say my real name right now. It's too long for him. You can't do that. Amand: And I know your old boss. He's probably like, okay. Kori: He would probably do work there at the jail. When we had answered the phone with the wrong name day, I really liked. Amand: Answer the phone in a British accent. It's always fun until command staff called, and you're like, oh, ****, my bad. Kori: Yeah. We had answered the phone with not Your name day because we had an officer who called one of my coworkers the wrong name every single time, even though we corrected her every single time. So that whole day we answered the phones with the wrong names. I was kitty. Amand: That's a good one. Kori: I know, right? Amand: I like that one. Kori: Yeah, we did that all day. Good time. Amand: It was good times, man. We had good times there. Actually, speaking of shout outs, I want to shout out to our former coworker. His name is Ryan. His wife is listening. Kori: Hello, Ryan on Facebook. Hello, Ryan. Amand: You're awesome. Thank you. We really appreciate it. Kori: We do. We appreciate all our listeners, by the way. Amand: We do. You guys are the best. Kori: You really are. You're the best at listening to us. Just have a chatty. Chat all the time. Amand: Yeah. Kori: Like, we're just chatty. chatting. Amand: Yeah. Coffee time in Colorado. Crime. I like it. Kori: I do, too. Thanks to all you people who reviewed. And next week we're going to cover leah Porter. Is that right? Amand: Yes. Kori: Okay. She is also missing and her body has also never been found. Amand: That'Ll be a really good one. And then after that, I believe we're covering Thomas clemens and he was the head of doc who was murdered. Kori: Yeah. By the pizza delivery guy or someone faking that or whatever, I think so am I mixing up some stories? Amand: No. Maybe. I'm not sure. I just remember he was like the head of doc and then they lived. Kori: In he was killed in Colorado Springs. Yes, I remember that too. Amand: So, yeah, you guys had some really good suggestions. We've got some really good cases lined up. Kori: We do. Amand: And we're going to cover a cult for that one. Kori: I love colts. Amand: I know. Kori: By the way, if anybody wants to join a cult, I'm thinking about becoming a colt leader. I already have the reverend part of it down, so just let me know your thoughts on that, right? Yeah, I feel like I'd be a good cult leader. I even saw some bunk beds on Facebook that I was going to buy that candice told me not to. Amand: Thank you, candace. Kori: Yeah. There were triple bunk bed. I know. I said I could put them in the bedroom. She said you still can. And I'm like she goes, that would be perfect for your cult. And I'm like you're right. It would be. Oh, my gosh. Amand: It's funny. She knows someone who grew up in. Kori: A cult, so it is Candice. Amand: That's crazy to me. Kori: Yeah, like a real it was in greeley. Yeah, I think so does Candice. Amand: This one was like nationwide, and they started like they lived in Florida and it got crazy. I'll have to talk to them and see if they would let me share that story because nice. It's an interesting one. Kori: Colts are interesting. Amand: We should do like a whole cult series. We should there was, like, colts. I know. Me too. There were rumors that the Marshall Fire was actually started by a cult. Kori: I wouldn't be surprised. Amand: I think it's been debunked, but when it first came out news first came out about what started it, they said that it was a cult that was burning trash or something. Kori: My favorite cult leader that I still follow on TikTok is teal Swan. She is, like, an actual I know. Some cult leaders are freaking crazy. You watch it, and you're like, oh, my God, why would you follow her? But teal Swan, I could see how people would follow her. She's very personal. She talks in the voice that I share with you. What are you I'm so sorry. Amand: I was trying to look up on the TikTok I'm in a few weeks. Kori: You should follow her. She's really interesting. Actually, some of her ideas are not terrible. I'm not following a colt, by the way, and I'm not joining a cult. Amand: But she does it sounds like you're joining a cult. Kori: I know, right? No, I'm a cult leader. I can't join a cult. I have to start my own. Amand: Well, you got to learn from a cult leader. Yes, the ins and outs, because she. Kori: Doesn'T just go around. She's not like, a creepy old man just having a cult to have sex with women. That's not for me. Amand: About is not a man, either. It is actually the woman. Kori: Yeah, see, by the way, guys, make sure to you can leave us a review on Facebook. I know a lot of people have Facebook. You can DM us on Instagram, start some conversations. We like to chatty. Chat. Amand: We do. We're really chatty. If you guys open the door. So I just got a pop socket. Kori: Oh, nice. Amand: Totally off topic, kind of, but it does go along, so I got a new pop socket. Sorry, honey. And it says introverted, but willing to discuss serial killers. Kori: Oh, because Troy said serial killer. Amand: Me too. If you're going to chat with me about anything, I'll talk to you about your pets, and I'll talk to you about murderers or cult leaders because I find them fascinating, too. Kori: Yeah, it's so interesting. Amand: I know. Or you can just tell us about your day. Kori: Yeah. Amand: But don't confess to any murders. Kori: No, we don't want that. And then also you can DM us and we'll shout out your small business and we want to support all small businesses, so give us a shout out on there and we can shout out your business. And if you're comfortable with that and send us your links and we can put those on there if that's cool with everyone too. We have no problem with that. We want to support everyone and with everything except murder. Except murder. We don't want to support your murder. And then maybe someday some of you will support my colt. I mean, I'm just saying that we're recruiting cult members. Amand: If you're interested in joining corey's colt, please DM her separately. Kori: We're not calling it, however, corey's colt club because that's the kkk. That doesn't work. Wow. So we got to find a better name. So I'm also looking for names. So for Corey, shout out to DM me with some cult names, if you're into that, too. And also just message us. We'd like to hear from you. And we're serious about it. We're not just saying in every podcast just to talk. Amand: No, we'll totally chat with you. I love that. I want to know your favorite cases. I want to know what you want us to cover. Tell me about your day. What kind of coffee do you like? I am kind of a blonde, flat white girl from starbucks. Today I had a kicker from Dutch Brothers. I also love a good English breakfast tea, but I'm weird, and I like a little bit of cream in it. Me too. Kori: So I like it. It's technically called the London Fog when you do it that way. I see. Yeah. A London fog is my favorite beverage. It is earl Gray with milk, like frost milk. Amand: Okay. Kori: And a little bit of vanilla syrup and sometimes a tiny bit of honey. Amand: You've lost me. Kori: I don't like honey. Amand: I don't like honeywear. Kori: I just do it with milk frost. That's what I do. Amand: I do English breakfast tea, which my sister in law maddie, you're the best. Thank you for my teapot because I use it all the time. It's like a loose leaf teapot. Kori: Oh, nice. Amand: Oh, my God. I love it. It's actually a problem. Chris is always yelling at me. He's like, really? More tea? I don't care. But it's English black coffee. No, English breakfast coffee. And then I just put, like, a little splash of heavy cream in there, and I don't froth it or anything. Kori: Nice. That's disgusting. Amand: I'm like I love it so much. I like, crave it. Kori: So some of my other friends, Angela and samantha, they turned me on to these sweet tea bags that lipton makes. Amand: Gross. Kori: No, but listen, it's a sweet tea bag and whatever other tea of your choosing. Milk and a little bit of heat that up in the microwave and then add a little, like, a splash of flavored creamer and then some hot water. It's seriously the best drink ever. Amand: I had members. Now you know what you'll be drinking. Kori: At their house, they had cardamom tea, which shout out to cardamom tea. Amand: Yeah. Kori: It's so delicious. So it was a cardamom tea bag. One of those sweetened tea bags. A splash of creamer, like a little bit of milk, like, probably like a quarter, a third cup somewhere in there. Heat it up in a microwave so it's the same temperature when you pour your hot water on to steep your tea a little bit and then let it steep in there. Best drink I've ever had. I drink it probably, like every night. Amand: In the milk water. Kori: Okay, just try it one time. Amand: I don't like sweet tea. Kori: Oh, yeah. Amand: I won't drink it. Kori: Well, don't use it with sweet tea. samantha doesn't use it with the sweet tea bag. Amand: To send me the recipe for this tea because yeah, it's so good. That seems like a lot of milk. Kori: I'm sure you could use less milk and more water if you wanted. I don't know how we moved on from murders and serial killers to a good cup of hot beverage, a nice spot tea. Amand: We were talking about what our favorite drink? Well, I was asking people what their favorite coffee was, but it's fine, which. Kori: We do like coffee, too. Amand: We do like coffee. But if you've made it this far and you're still here with us listening, we do want to grab a giveaway. Kori: You haven't turned it off by now. Amand: You're real MVP. We will mention our giveaway at the beginning of next episode because this has just gone on too far. This is blasphemy of our shenanigans. I'm tired of our shenanigans. Kori: Me too. Amand: All right, crime fans. Not really, but until next time, thank you so much for joining us today. Please keep the case requests coming. If you haven't already, please subscribe so you can be notified each time we upload. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We will pick another listener next week for another shout out. New episodes are released every Friday at 10:30, a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Please follow us on Instagram at Colorado Crime pod or on Facebook at Colorado Crime podcast for information on next week's episode, as well as other true crime happenings. We hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are, and as always, stay safe. Kori: Well, kids, every new beginning comes from some other beginnings.