COLD CASE CLOSED: Man pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 1967 infant death
FLORENCE, Colo. (KRDO) - A case spanning back half a century is now officially closed.
Details go back to 1967, when a 14-month-old baby girl was found deceased in her crib at her trailer home in Florence, Colorado.
Back then, her case had been ruled an accident and no charges were filed in the case, according to the district attorney's office.
It wasn't until 2021 when two detectives with the Florence Police Department decided to dig deeper, believing there may have been more to the case.
Just under a year later, in September of 2022, the D.A. says the corner's office ruled 14-month-old Roxanne Archuletta's death a homicide.
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Last year, a grand jury indicted Keith Smith on one count of second-degree murder in her death.
OTHER: Accused baby killer in decades-old Fremont County cold case was a suspect from the start
Just this week, the saga continued. On Monday, Smith pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
According to his attorney, the plea agreement dropped all other charges, sentencing Smith to 4 years of probation.
Despite the agreement, Smith's attorney says he has maintained his innocence for decades-- and still does.
"He was very adamant about his innocence, you know, and so that that's what made it so hard to enter into this plea-- was that it was something that was done because of factors beyond the case, and beyond guilt and innocence," said Karl Tameler, Smith's defense attorney.
Tameler also noted Smith's old age and the toll it would take on him to put on a full fight for his defense.
"My client was just ready to go. He was just ready to end it. And so we never really got to fight all the battles in this case. And, part of me wishes that we would," shared Tameler.
District Attorney Jeffrey D. Lindsey says it was time to serve justice and lay the case to rest.
"Before there was no resolution. There wasn't any justice for that baby. And the plea agreement-- well, it's limited in, you know, the consequences of the defendant," said Lindsey. "It does represent some form of justice."
After the KRDO13 report aired, the family of Roxanne Marie Archuletta responded. Roxanne's older sister La Cole Archuletta shared a message that reads:
"The loss of Roxanne has burdened our family not only since 1967, but especially the past 4 years since this case has been reopened. The verdict of yesterday’s court was not what we had hoped, however we are pleased that a felony conviction was delivered and justice was served. The loss of Roxanne will be felt forever, but the Archuletta family, Roxanne’s father James, older sister La Cole, and niece Rhone are all comforted knowing her killer has pleaded guilty."
