A 31-year-old man was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for strangling a woman to death and stuffing her body into a motel room couch.
An Adams County jury convicted Emiliano Damacio Urioste on Thursday of six counts, according to a news release from the Adams County District Attorney’s office.The three felony charges were after deliberation, first-degree felony murder and robbery.
Urioste was also convicted of three misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault, reckless endangerment and aggravated motor vehicle theft.
Adams County District Court Judge Craig Welling sentenced Urioste to life in prison without parole and an additional six years.
Abigail Cozad, 31, was found beaten and strangled to death at the Primrose Motel at 5450 Federal Blvd. on June 1, 2015. Her body had been stuffed inside a sofa in one of the motel’s rooms.
Cozad, Urioste and checked into the motel on May 31. Cozad had recently become involved with Urioste and had free use of her credit cards and cash, according to the news release.
In 1999, Cozad — who was once an honor student and competitive swimmer — suffered a traumatic brain injury during a car accident. The crash left her physically and cognitively impaired, the release said.
On May 30, Urioste, Cozad, Dean and another man were driving around in Cozad’s car and going to bars. At one point in the night, Urioste became enraged and started hitting Cozad and slamming her face into the dashboard of the car. He also tried to push her out of the vehicle.
During the trial, Dean testified that Urioste wrapped Cozad in plastic and put her in the trunk of the car before going to the motel room at about 9 a.m. on May 31. Inside the room, Cozad was beaten and strangled to death.
Cozad’s credit cards were used after her death to buy cleaning supplies, including gloves and lighter fluid. Urioste had planned to set the sofa and motel room on fire after stuffing Cozad’s body into the back of the couch, according to the news release.
But when Urioste returned to the hotel with the cleaning supplies, police were already there.
