Gilberto Cruz, 27, was sentenced today to life in prison without possibility of parole in the October slaying of his estranged girlfriend, Amanda Duran.
Attorneys for Cruz, who was convicted in July of first-degree murder and possession of a dangerous weapon, asked the judge if Cruz could waive his appearance at sentencing and leave the courtroom, but the request was denied.
Duran was trying to end a relationship with Cruz when he came to her Edgewater home. When she asked him to leave, Cruz pulled a sawed-off shotgun out of pants and tried three times to shoot her as she ran outside.
Cruz shot her in the back of the head as she pounded on a neighbor’s door.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
