GEORGETOWN, Colo. — A Leadville woman has been convicted of second-degree murder after prosecutors said she intentionally ran over her boyfriend with her car.
Maria Day, 59, has been found guilty of running over John Alexander Martinez, 55, the Fifth Judicial District Attorney's Office announced. Prosecutors said Day ran over Martinez on James Street while returning from a shopping trip.
Day left Martinez by the side of the road, and feigned remorse for hitting “someone” when she called 911 to report the incident 30 minutes later, investigators said.
The Leadville Police Department (LPD) said Day did not name that "someone" as her boyfriend, and did not describe how the incident happened.
Martinez died hours later from severe wounds all over his body, and tire tracks were found on his pants, officials said.
Investigators say surveillance video belonging to the nearby home of Day's sister shows her leaving the immediate area where Martinez was lying, dropping off her mother, inspecting damage on her vehicle's front-right bumper, and attempting to buff it away.
Day was arrested shortly after the incident and reported that her transmission got stuck after she dropped off Martinez, causing her car to accelerate into him, according to LPD officers.
Prosecutors said they presented evidence showing the make and model of the Lexus involved had no history of transmission issues, and the previous owner testified the transmission was in good working order when it was sold a year prior.
“Intimate partner violence is endemic in our society, but acts like this are rare," District Attorney Bruce Brown said. "Nonetheless, an abuser who goes untreated can become a killer like Maria Day. We mourn the loss of another victim."
Sentencing has not been scheduled.
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