DENVER — A Denver man was convicted on Thursday of killing his 50-year-old ex-girlfriend in August of 2022.
Travis Tuomi, 45, was convicted on both of the charges he faced — first-degree murder after deliberation and tampering with a deceased human body.
The Denver District Attorney's Office argued that Tuomi manually strangled Elizabeth Hatlas to death and then placed an extension cord around her neck in an apparent attempt to make it look like a suicide.
Hatlas' body was found in the backyard of the home she and Tuomi shared in the 3600 block of High Street the following day, according to a previous report. Tuomi was arrested later that same day.
Tuomi is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17.
Hatlas called Denver Police in May of 2022 reporting that Tuomi had "dragged her by the neck, threw her in the bathtub, turned on the shower, and left the house."
The domestic violence detective who was assigned the case was found to not have adequately followed up on Hatlas' report. The detective received a three-day suspension.
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