Loveland Jury Back To Work Monday

FORT COLLINS – The case of a man accused of beating a process server to death with a baseball bat is in the hands of a jury.

Larimer County jurors began deliberations Friday in the case of 46-year-old James Whitler, charged with first-degree murder for the death of 57-year-old Stephen Allen.

Whitler’s defense attorney Eric Vanatta says his client’s actions were not premeditated and that he snapped amid a “hurricane of emotions” when Allen served him divorce papers at his Loveland home last year.

But prosecutors say Whitler had plenty of time to think about what he was doing, alleging that he struck Allen as many as 20 times with a bat.

Jurors will continue to deliberate Monday.