Donthe Lucas trial Day 2: Defense debates jailhouse witness statement

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- After a former jail inmate testified that Donthe Lucas revealed investigators would never find his pregnant girlfriend Kelsie Schelling, Lucas' defense opened the second day of his murder trial by attacking the inmate's story.

Lucas is on trial for first-degree murder after Schelling disappeared in 2013.

10:40 a.m.: Ryan Rivera testified late Monday that when he was in the Pueblo County Jail with Donthe Lucas, Lucas told him, "They'll never find her [Schelling's] body. They will never convict me."

Lucas' defense opened arguments Thursday by laying out Rivera's criminal history, including pending cases. His attorney called him a drug addict and claimed that testifying would be beneficial to him.

Rivera strongly denied that allegation, saying that being friends with a district attorney while in prison could get him in trouble with other inmates. Prosecutors called Capt. Shelly Bryant with the Pueblo County Jail to the stand, and Bryant testified that Rivera was trustworthy and honest during his time in jail.

Rivera testified that Lucas' attorneys visited him in jail and asked him questions about what Lucas told him. Rivera said he didn't have an attorney present, and there was a disagreement over whether or not Lucas' attorneys identified themselves as such. Rivera said he told Lucas' attorneys the same story, and one attorney called him a "natural born liar." That's when the meeting ended.

Rivera testified that he wished Lucas hadn't talked to him about Schelling so that he wouldn't have to testify in court. "I can't change what he said," Rivera testified. "I've got to move forward with my life."

See Day 1's coverage of the trial here.

KRDO's Dan Beedie is in the courtroom providing updates from the trial. Keep updated in this article and watch a recap tonight on KRDO NewsChannel 13.