A Colorado man has been convicted of murder after killing his girlfriend and staging the scene to look like a break-in gone wrong.
Lisa West, 34, sent a text to a friend saying, “I wish I could leave, but I literally have nowhere to go and no money,” the same day her boyfriend, Kevin Wells, shot her in the head at the Mountain Shadows Apartments on Fontmore Road in Colorado Springs, according to court testimony reported by The Gazette.
Wells, 36 at the time of the killing, was found guilty of murder Friday by an El Paso County jury, according to local CBS affiliate KKTV. Court records show his trial had begun the week before.
Testimony from a preliminary hearing held last year detailed how Wells phoned 911 claiming someone was trying to break into his apartment. He told the dispatcher he wasn’t home, but that West was inside.
When officers arrived, they found West dead from a single gunshot wound between the eyes. Prosecutors said she and Wells had a history of domestic violence, and that West had wanted to leave him because he was abusive.
Wells placed his 911 call around 11:35 a.m. the day West’s body was discovered, KKTV reported. About thirty minutes later, his father contacted police to say Wells had confessed to the killing.
According to court documents obtained by local Fox affiliate KXRM, Wells told his father he had “screwed up” and that “my life is over.” Separately, Wells’ boss called 911 to report that Wells had admitted to the killing in a text message.
When investigators later interviewed Wells’ parents, his father said Wells claimed West had hit him and threatened to bring “guys” over to the apartment. Wells reportedly told his father he ordered West to leave, and that he shot her after she refused.
Wells is set to be sentenced on Nov. 20.
