Three people have been indicted in the murder of a couple in Aurora last year.
An Arapahoe County grand jury indicted Robert Ray, 20, Parish Carter, 24, and Sir Mario Owens, 21, in the 2005 killings of Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe. Marshall-Fields was a witness to a murder in July of 2004. That case, involving Robert Ray, was just about to go to trial when Marshall-Fields and Wolfe were killed.
Deputy Chief District Attorney John Hower credited Marshall-Fields for his courage in agreeing to testify about the 2004 murder of Gregory Vann.
“Of the many, many witnesses to that case, Javad Marshall-Fields was the only one to stand up and say what he saw. Having met (his mother) Rhonda Fields, we know where he got that…strength of character,” Hower said.
All three of the indicted men are currently in jail.
In the 21-count indictment, all face first degree murder charges in both Marshall-Fields and Wolfe’s deaths.
They could be sentenced to death or life without parole.
They also all face charges of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, aggravated witness intimidation, retaliation against a witness, and drug possession.
Marshall-Fields and Wolfe were both 22 years old, and were recent Colorado State University graduates. They were killed on June 20th, 2005.
“I want you all to remember my son’s smile and Vivian’s smile,” said Rhonda Fields.
“They were robbed of their futures…I hope these indictments bring a very clear message that we won’t allow criminals to control our courtrooms or our streets.”
“It’s been 260 days,” said Christine Wolfe, Vivian’s mother. “Every day is hard for us, but we will try.
“When we have a witness murder, it affects the entire criminal justice system,” said Carol Chambers, 18th Judicial District Attorney.
“The message that we want to send, if people interfere, in this way, we will bring those people to justice.”
