FORT COLLINS, Colo.—A prosecutor told jurors Thursday that Shawna Nelson killed a former lover’s wife so she and her lover could live together with their son.
Nelson’s attorney countered that Nelson was over her obsession with her lover and did not kill Heather Garraus, 37.
Nelson, 36, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Garraus on Jan. 23, 2007, outside the credit union in Greeley where Garraus worked.
Nelson’s family has said Nelson, a former Weld County sheriff’s dispatcher, had an affair with Garraus’ husband, former Greeley police officer Ignacio Garraus, and that the affair produced a son. Nelson also was married at the time.
Prosecutor Greg Lammons said in opening arguments Thursday that Nelson wanted Heather Garraus gone so that she, her son and Ignacio Garraus could live together.
Defense attorney Annette Kundelius said Nelson was not the killer and that police refused to consider other suspects, such as loan applicants Heather Garraus rejected.
