El Paso County man who admitted to killing wife in 911 call sentenced to life in prison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Stephen Chan, the El Paso County man who called 911 and admitted to killing his wife nearly a year ago, was found guilty of first-degree murder.
According to the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, he has been sentenced to life in prison.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said that on Sept. 1, 2024, Chan called 911 and confessed to the operator that he had murdered his wife before abruptly hanging up.
Shortly after, the office received another call reporting a body found near the end of Walsen Road in northern Colorado Springs – about 100 yards from the home where the Chans lived with their children.
Colorado Springs Police were called to perform a welfare check at the Chans' home on Horsetail Terrace, but say Chan had already turned himself into a substation in Falcon, where he was detained and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Chan changed his plea to not guilty in April after prosecutors rejected a plea deal that would have reduced the charge to manslaughter.
According to court documents, Chan told officers back in September that he suspected his wife had been having extramarital affairs for years. He said he began plotting her death after accusing her of taking his money, stealing vegetables and cooking pans from him.
READ MORE: Cheating, theft of vegetables and money; motive given by man who confessed to wife’s murder
Court documents say Chan also told officers he had tied her up, loaded her into the back seat of his car and shot her twice in the chest before calling authorities. Their children had been out of the state at the time.
Detectives say Jian was found with her hands bound, partially wrapped in a bedsheet, and still in her pajamas. She had gunshot wounds to her chest.
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