Michael Close, 38, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but a jury on Thursday convicted him of the shooting after concluding he knew what he was doing when he shot Isabella Thalas and wounded her boyfriend, Darian Simon, to the Denver Post. mentionted.
Denver DA Beth McCann said in a prepared statement that she was “pleased” her office was able to get justice for the victims.
Prosecutors alleged that Close had a “verbal exchange” with Thalas and Simon as they encouraged their dog, Rocco, to relieve himself in a rock garden outside Close’s apartment on Huron Street near Coors Field on June 10, 2020.
Isabella Thalas was shot in the back with an AK-47 as she and her boyfriend walked their dog next to Michael Close’s apartment. GoFundMe
Clow shouted out the window to the couple as they urged the pup to “potty”.
“Are you going to train this f-king dog or just yell at him?” Close he said, according to Denver Police Homicide Investigator Joseph Trujillo.
Close then grabbed the AK-47, which he had gotten from a friend who was a Denver police sergeant, and fired 24 rounds.
Thalas was hit in the back and died at the scene, just two days after celebrating her birthday. Her boyfriend was injured in the leg and buttocks.
After the shooting, Clow got into his Mercedes SUV with the AK-47 and a handgun and fled, but was arrested during a traffic stop later that day.
Close had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury concluded that he knew what he was doing when he opened fire on the victims. Denver District Attorney’s Office
Clow’s public defender, Sonia Prince, said he had suffered a mental breakdown, alleging an abusive childhood, a series of job losses, a divorce and the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to his poor mental health at the time of the shooting.
Clow wept as the verdict was announced after less than a day of deliberations, as did Thalas’ family members who attended the hearing.
Thalas’ mother, Anna Thalas, said afterward that she felt numb.
Thalas had just celebrated her 21st birthday two days before she was killed during an argument over her dog’s bowel movement. Facebook
“We waited two and a half years for this day and what happened there went by … almost as quickly as my daughter was slaughtered,” she said through tears. “And our lives were changed forever.”
Ana later tweeted that hearing the handcuffs “was music to my ears.”
Isabella’s father, Joshua Thalas, told reporters outside the courtroom that there was “no justice in this” compared to the amount of loss caused by Clow’s “bad choices”.
Close faces a mandatory life sentence when he is sentenced Nov. 4.
