A 23-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday in Adams County for fatally shooting his former girlfriend in 2012 at the Westminster hotel where she worked.
Seth Erin Wilkinson was convicted of first-degree murder in April in the death of 20-year-old Antida Archuleta.
Wilkinson had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury deliberated for just over an hour before handing down their guilty finding, prosecutors said.
Investigators say they found Archuleta dead at the Savannah Suites Hotel in December 2012 where Wilkinson had shot her three times in the head.
“When police arrived, they found Archuleta in a pool of blood and Wilkinson standing over her, bleeding, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chin,” prosecutors said in a news release.
Officials say Wilkinson had gone to Archuleta’s grandparent’s home hours before the shooting threatening to kill himself and wanting to confront Archuleta about her new boyfriend.
“Archuleta called Wilkinson’s parents and his father came to the home and took him away,” the release said. “Later that afternoon, he told his parents he was going to an office Christmas party. Instead he went to Savannah Suites armed with a .45 caliber revolver, looking for Archuleta.”
The day after the fatal shooting, police found a suicide note in Wilkinson’s bedroom addressed to his family, authorities say.
“When you shoot someone the way he did, at point-blank range, quite frankly a sentence to life in prison without parole is appropriate,” Dave Young, 17th Judicial District attorney, said at the sentencing, according to the release. “His actions on that day are why he will be in prison the rest of his life.”
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
