AURORA, Colo. — An Aurora man who strangled his fiancée to death faces life in prison after an Arapahoe County District Court jury found him guilty in connection with her death.
After four hours of deliberations, jurors convicted Sterling Dwayne Austin, 58, guilty of first-degree murder after deliberation.
Austin called 911 in January 2017 and reported this his fiancée 23-year-old Aurora Coleman needed medical attention, prosecutors said. First-responders found her dead inside Austin's car.
He told police he thought she had taken drugs and passed out and hadn't called for help earlier because he didn't want to get her in trouble.
However, 12 hours before Austin called 911, police learned that a witness reported a man in that car punching and choking a woman. The man left the area before police arrived.
The coroner determined Coleman had been strangled, and that evidence led to murder charges against Austin.
“The defendant claimed he loved and cared about Ms. Coleman, but his actions showed otherwise,” said Deputy District Attorney Casey Brown, who prosecuted the case. “The defendant made no effort to summon medical assistance and drove around with Ms. Coleman’s deceased body for 12 hours before attempting to mislead responders.”
Jurors convicted Austin on April 11 of one count of first-degree murder after deliberation. Sentencing is set for June 6. The statutorily mandated sentence for that count is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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