Murder trial under way for former deputy sheriff

Prosecutors portrayed a former Colorado sheriff’s deputy accused of killing his wife in 2012 as a husband angry at his wife and her family, while defense attorneys told jurors his wife was a depressed, self-destructive woman who had in the past contemplated suicide.

Attorneys presented both sides as the trial of former Weld County sheriff’s deputy Tom Fallis, who is charged with second-degree murder, got under way on Wednesday.

Investigators originally ruled Ashley Fallis’ death a suicide, but new evidence led a grand jury to charge Tom Fallis with second-degree murder in 2014. He had moved to Bloomington, Indiana with his three children by that time.

The Greeley Tribune reports that after opening statements, the prosecution called its first witness, Evans police officer Brad Rodriguez, to describe the scene and the evidence.