Arapahoe County – A jury found Gabriel Esparza guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison without parole Wednesday in the fatal shooting of his estranged wife last summer outside Englewood’s city hall.
Esparza, 38, of Aurora hung his head as his stepdaughter, who is in her early 20s, wept, testified that she considered him “the only real father” she ever knew and expressed her anger at the murder of her mother, Tina Esparza.
“Your honor, I gave him a second chance, and he betrayed me,” she said. “He took my mom away.”
Gabriel Esparza killed his wife with a .44 Magnum on May 14, 2004, around lunchtime outside Englewood’s administration offices and courthouse where she worked.
Defense attorneys conceded that Gabriel Esparza shot his wife but argued that it was an impulsive act. Prosecutors, however, said Esparza stalked her for months and hatched an elaborate plan to kill her.
During sentencing Wednesday, Tina Esparza’s sister, Linda Hall, testified that she knew Gabriel Esparza would hurt his wife. Hall said the system failed to protect her sister.
“This is not a community that embraced her and protected her,” Hall said. “… She tried to make the best of an incredibly bad situation. I knew he would not let her go.”
Jurors deliberated four hours before convicting Gabriel Esparza of the maximum charge, rather than a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter.
“The evidence presented to the jury showed the defendant carefully stalked (Tina) much like a predator does to prey,” District Court Judge Timothy Fasing said as he handed down the sentence.
Defense attorneys had hoped the verdict would hinge on an audiotape Gabriel Esparza recorded in the days leading up to the shooting. He spoke about killing himself. On the second side of the tape, he left a message for friends to “tell Tina she’s won.”
But it was a video of Esparza’s first interview with detectives that helped sway the jurors, prosecutors said. In the interview – one day after his wife’s murder – Esparza was shocked to be considered a suspect.
“How can you guys think I would kill my own wife?” Gabriel asked detectives. “That’s too much.”
The jurors “could clearly see he was lying the whole time,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Dee Demers said.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1173 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
