Life sentence handed down in Canon City triple slayings

A sex offender from Indiana who pleaded guilty to killing a Caon City woman and two of her children was sentenced to life in prison Monday (9/29/14).

Jaacob Van Winkle will never be eligible for parole.

Vanwinkle pleaded guilty to 36 counts as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

Vanwinkle stabbed 35-year-old Mandy Folsom, 9-year-old Marissa and 5-year-old Mason on March 9. According to court documents, Mason was found lying face down in a crawl space. Marissa was in bed with a sock taped in her mouth. Mandy was found with her hands tied with tape and above her head.

Police found Vanwinkle in an upstairs bedroom.

Police say Mandy Folsom’s other daughter escaped and ran to a neighbor’s for help.

Vanwinkle was convicted in Indiana of child molestation and other sex crimes involving girls as young as 5 and 7 in 2004. He failed to register as a sex offender after moving to Caon City.