A 36-year-old man was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend inside her Aurora home in January 2024, the said this week.
Daniel Howard was found guilty of first-degree murder, assault and motor vehicle theft in the death of Shayla Bryan by an Arapahoe County jury Thursday.
Bryan, 35, was on the phone with her sister and 10-year-old daughter the night of Jan. 18, 2024, when the girl and her aunt heard an argument and gunshots from Bryan’s end of the call, according to the district attorney’s office and previous reporting.
Aurora police found Bryan unresponsive at her home in the 10700 block of East Exposition Avenue.
The girl told Aurora police she heard Howard’s voice on the phone, and investigators later determined Howard shot Bryan three times, stole her car and fled the scene.
“I commend this little girl’s courage and strength to testify against ,” Senior Deputy DA Kathleen Tierney said in a statement. “Her credible testimony left no doubt in the eyes of the jury as to who pulled the trigger that day.”
Howard’s sentencing, which is set for Feb. 13, will include life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for first-degree-murder convictions in Colorado.
