The jury will begin deliberations Wednesday morning in the case of a Boulder County man accused of killing and dismembering his ex-girlfriend.
Prosecutors argued Adam Densmore had, “an absolute hatred” for Ashley Mead and killed her because he wanted to keep their 1-year-old daughter in his life.
In their closing arguments Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors showed jurors various photos, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings to support their case. They argued Densmore killed Mead, put her body in a suitcase and drove to his parents’ home in Louisiana where he dismembered her body.
Mead was last seen February 12, 2017. Her torso was discovered two days later, stuffed in a suitcase inside a dumpster at a gas station in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Investigators have not found the rest of her body.
Prosecutors argued Tuesday that Densmore attempted to leave “clues to cover his tracks.” He sent text messages and left voicemails for Mead the night she was killed saying that he had taken their daughter to visit his parents in Louisiana. Prosecutors said he made those phone calls on the road while Mead’s body was still inside the Volvo he was driving.
Densmore was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prosecutors showed the jury pictures of blood smears on the seats of the Volvo and empty scalpel packages left in the car.
Defense attorneys did not dispute that Densmore dismembered Ashley Mead’s body. They argued prosecutors could not prove where, when or how Ashley Mead was killed. They pointed to the lack of physical evidence found in the Boulder home where prosecutors say the murder took place.
“If you are left with questions, it wasn’t proven,” defense attorney, Kate Herold told the jury.
Assistant District Attorney Ken Kupfner responded to Herold’s argument explaining to the jury the reason prosecutors couldn’t prove how Mead died was because of what Adam Densmore did to Mead’s body.
Densmore kept his eyes on the legal pad in front of him, putting his pen to paper whenever prosecutors talked on Tuesday. He only lifted his gaze when his defense team spoke.
Densmore is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. He chose not to testify in the trial that’s lasted a little more than two weeks.
Closing arguments finished around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. The jury will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
