Greeley – Police still have “hundreds of witnesses” to interview in their investigation of last week’s slaying of the wife of a Greeley police officer, a Weld County prosecutor said Monday.
Heather Garraus, 37, was fatally shot Jan. 23 outside the Colorado State Employees Credit Union where she worked as an assistant branch manager. Her alleged assailant – 35-year-old Shawna Louise Nelson – faces a first-degree-murder charge.
Prosecutors formally filed the murder charge Monday against Nelson, who had a three-year affair with Garraus’ husband – veteran Greeley police Officer Ignacio Garraus, said Nelson’s sister.
Nelson, who is married to a Weld County sheriff’s deputy, gave birth to a child as a result of the affair. Nelson is a former Greeley police dispatcher.
Attorney Steven Zansberg, who also represents The Denver Post on First Amendment issues, argued in court Monday that documents relating to Nelson’s arrest should be unsealed. Keeping them away from the public would do “constitutional harm to the public and press,” said Zansberg, who is representing the Greeley Tribune in this case.
But prosecutor Michele Meyer said releasing the arrest affidavit too soon would damage a police probe that is less than a week old.
“There are hundreds of witnesses involved in this case,” Meyer said. “Having this information out there would taint the investigation.”
District Judge Roger Klein agreed to a point, saying the arrest-warrant and search-warrant affidavits would remain sealed until Feb. 13. The prosecution has submitted a list of 86 witnesses.
In his argument against opening the records, Nelson’s attorney – public defender Kevin Strobel – hinted that her defense could hinge on police arresting the wrong person.
“There are significant issues of identity present in this case,” Strobel told Klein.
Police reportedly are still looking for the murder weapon.
Heather Garraus only recently learned Nelson’s child was fathered by her husband. The two women then had a couple of confrontations, said Debbie Smith, Nelson’s sister.
Nelson suffered from post-partum depression after all three of her children were born, Smith said. She had been taking antidepressant medication but recently stopped for no apparent reason.
Nelson kept her hair in front of her face at Monday’s hearing, staying close to Strobel. Families of the victim and Nelson watched the proceedings.
Sara Staley said she and Garraus’ other co-workers would stay with the case until its end.
“There’s nothing really bad to say about Heather,” Staley said. “She loved Ig (Ignacio Garraus) and her kids, and they loved her back.”
“She was,” said Staley, “like a mother to us.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.
