Pueblo judge considers murder trial for boyfriend of missing pregnant woman

(FRIDAY)

An FBI agent revealed Friday during testimony in Pueblo that there was a four-hour window during which the cellphones of missing Kelsie Schelling and her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, couldn’t be traced.

Special Agent Scott Eicher testified for the prosecution in the second day of Lucas’ preliminary hearing.

Eicher is a cellular analyst who tracked the movement and usage of calls and texts between the couple.

Cellphone towers provide tracking information, he said, but that information wasn’t available during the four-hour period in early February 2013 between the last time Schelling and Lucas saw each other, and Schelling’s disappearance.

“I always had concern about that because you wonder how far out of Pueblo someone could have driven Kelsie in a four-hour period,” said her mother, Laura Saxton.

Eicher said Schelling and Lucas were in frequent contact from the time she left Denver to visit him on the night of Feb. 4, until the following morning.

After that, Eicher said the frequency of contact gradually decreased until Schelling’s phone was apparently turned off on the morning of Feb. 7, near the Walmart where Lucas said he last saw her.

Eicher also said there is no evidence to show the couple’s phones were at Parkview Medical Center, where Lucas said he took Schelling to get a checkup on the status of her eight-week pregnancy.

Just before the lunch break, the prosecution called its last witness — a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent who was part of the Schelling probe.

It’s unclear whether the defense plans to call witnesses, but closing statements from both sides are expected Friday afternoon.

Judge Thomas Flesher will then decide whether enough evidence exists for Lucas to stand trial for murder.

Because of the length of the hearing, it’s possible that another hearing on a robbery charge against Lucas will be rescheduled.

(THURSDAY)

Authorities have presented, for the first time, evidence gathered to charge the prime suspect involved in the February 2013 disappearance of Kelsie Schelling in Pueblo.

On Thursday, a judge began presiding over a two-day preliminary hearing for Donthe Lucas, 25, at the Maes Judicial Building in Pueblo.

Lucas was charged with first-degree murder in December in the case, even though the body of Schelling, 21, or a murder weapon haven’t been found.

Lucas and Schelling had been dating and Lucas is believed to have been the father of her unborn baby. According to court testimony, she was eight weeks pregnant when she disappeared.

Lucas appeared in a packed courtroom Thursday wearing a red jail uniform and handcuffs.

“I was looking for some sign of emotion from him,” said Laura Saxton, Schelling’s mother. “But he’s the way he always is–a blank face with no expression.”

The defense and prosecuting teams tackled tough topics related to Schelling’s disappearance.

Here are some key points from the hearing on Thursday:

Was Schelling pregnant?

Schelling’s pregnancy was a major topic of discussion. The biggest aspect both parties addressed was whether Schelling was actually pregnant when she disappeared.

Prosecutors said she was, and that Lucas had been involved in her disappearance because he wasn’t happy about the pregnancy and he had told her he was ending the relationship. Lucas also promised her “a surprise” if she came from her apartment in Denver to visit him in Pueblo. There’s indication of what that surprise was.

The prosecuting team said Schelling texted Lucas an ultrasound photo to verify her pregnancy.

The defense said, according to other friends and Lucas, Schelling had claimed to be pregnant several times before in hopes of continuing the relationship.

But prosecutors said Lucas told several friends that he would take Schelling’s baby away from her, and that “he could get her to do anything he wanted.”

Prosecutors also said there is no record of Schelling showing up at Parkview Medical Center for a checkup on the day she disappeared. Lucas said he gave her a ride there, waited for her to return, and she told him that she wasn’t pregnant.

That was one of several inconsistent statements from Lucas during the investigation that prosecutors disputed in the hearing.

Schelling’s relationship with her father

The defense cited texts from a friend indicating that Schelling had an often violent relationship with her father, which had been a reason for her missing work in the past and not staying in contact.

Schelling also had issues with depression and overdosing on drugs, the defense argued, and said that the reason for her disappearance could be because she became a victim of human trafficking.

“We were forewarned that we’d hear things like that,” Saxton said. “I know it’s common. It’s hard to hear. I think it’s really unfortunate because we all know what really happened to Kelsie.”

The defense is also trying to confirm when and where she was last seen, and by whom.

Lucas and Shelling’s last encounter

Lucas said he and Schelling had an argument in a Walmart parking lot, she kicked him out of her car, he walked away and that was the last time he saw her.

Prosecutors countered that statement by saying Lucas kept her car for several days after she disappeared and used her bank card to withdraw $400 from her account, making him a prime suspect in her disappearance.

Witnesses

So far the witnesses have been a Denver police officer, a Denver missing persons detective and a former Pueblo police officer. All of them talked about what they learned in their investigations.

Photo: Kelsie’s mother and brother at the hearing.

Saxton said she believes the judge will order Lucas to stand trial.

“But there are no guarantees,” she said. “It should have happened within the first few weeks or months of Kelsie’s disappearance. We’ve seen in court that memories fade.”