BOULDER — Although he was never convicted of sexual assault, the Chilean native accused of killing a University of Colorado student 11 years ago violently raped three other victims and has demonstrated a pattern of violence and “a hate for women,” prosecutors said in a motion released Wednesday.
Prosecutors are asking to introduce past allegations against Diego Olmos Alcalde when he stands trial in June on suspicion of fatally beating Susannah Chase, 23, near her Boulder home Dec. 21, 1997.
Defendants’ criminal histories are not usually admitted during trials, but state law says there’s a greater need to expose evidence of “other relevant acts” when prosecuting sex crimes because “sex offenders are extremely habituated,” according to the motion filed in Boulder County District Court.
“The defendant’s behavior in all of the cases is clearly indicative of a hate for women,” prosecutor Amy Okubo wrote.
The motion — along with several others, including defense attempts to suppress Alcalde’s statements — will be heard by a judge next week.
Alcalde, 39, was arrested in January 2008 on suspicion of brutally beating and raping Chase and leaving her to die in an alley near downtown Boulder. Police arrested Alcalde after a DNA sample he was required to submit after a kidnapping conviction in Wyoming matched evidence taken from Chase’s body.
Alcalde has maintained his innocence and told investigators he wasn’t in Boulder when the crime occurred. Defense attorney Steve Jacobson declined to comment Wednesday.
During next week’s hearing, prosecutors will argue that the Wyoming case — in which Alcalde dragged a woman from her car before being stopped by her family members — should be introduced to jurors, as well as evidence from three Denver cases.
Read details of the three Denver cases .
