27 Apr Various News & Press on Tom Fallis Murder Trial
Jury takes little time to decide: Tom Fallis is not guilty
By James Redmond
This article originally appeared in The Greeley Tribune, March 31, 2016
To view the original article, click here
After a three-week trial and a little more than three hours of deliberation Thursday, a Weld District Court jury ultimately decided Tom Fallis was not guilty of killing his wife, Ashley Fallis.
After fighting to see their daughter’s case in court for years, Ashley Fallis’ parents watched the man they’ve said killed their daughter hug his defense attorneys when he was cleared of the second-degree murder charge.
Tom Fallis’ attorneys stood by his side and broke into tears when the judge read the jury’s verdict. Back patting and arm holding turned into hugs as Tom Fallis celebrated the verdict with his defense team.
Tom Fallis’ murder trial was an informational overload with an emotional cost for jury foreperson
By James Redmond
This article originally appeared in The Greeley Tribune, April 5, 2016
To view the original article, click here
Debbie McEvers had to talk to herself some nights as she drove home alone from a day of jury duty in the murder trial of Tom Fallis.
She couldn’t talk to anyone else — not even other jurors until their deliberations began — and she needed some way to decompress so she could be emotionally present for her family. Sometimes, she ran an entire monologue during the drive, as if she was telling her fiancé about her day, trying to process the thoughts and feelings that arose.
The Fallis trial was the first time McEvers, an elementary school teacher, served as a juror. The others elected her foreperson.
Applause letters for April 2
This article originally appeared in The Greeley Tribune, April 1, 2016
To view the original article, click here
‘Big city’ reporting tended toward bias
I write this after returning from the Weld County courtroom where the Tom Fallis murder trial just ended with a not guilty verdict. My wife and I attended almost every day since opening arguments.
This trial received considerable attention in both the local as well as the Denver media. As neutral observers, with no connections to either side, our only source of information before the trial was through the media. Based on that fact, we went into the courtroom leaning a bit toward guilty.
However, as the trial progressed, it became clear the prosecution had little convincing evidence to present. Several times after returning from court for the day we would say in amazement, “And these are the prosecution witnesses?”
We also started following the tweets from some of the media we saw in court each day and viewed reports on the Denver television channels.
Former jail deputy walks free after jury acquits him in wife’s death
By Jordan Steffen
This article originally appeared in The Denver Post, March 31, 2016
To view the original article, click here
The jury’s forewoman handed the verdict to the judge, and the answer to a question that had tormented two families and a local police department lay written on the page.
For four years, former Weld County sheriff’s deputy Tom Fallis had insisted he watched his wife commit suicide. For four years, Ashley Fallis’ family had insisted that Tom pulled the trigger, then enlisted his friends in law enforcement to help cover it up.
The judge scanned the page Thursday afternoon and then read aloud: “We the jury find the defendant, Tom Fallis, not guilty of murder in the second-degree and all lesser included offenses.”
Former jail deputy walks free after jury acquits him in wife’s death
By Lauren Effron, Carol McKinley, and Jonathan Balthasar
This article originally appeared on ABC News Online, March 31, 2016
To view the original article, click here
Tom Fallis, a former Colorado corrections deputy who was charged with second-degree murder in his wife’s 2012 shooting death, was found not guilty today.
The jury deliberated for less than four hours before reaching a verdict. Fallis’ defense attorney Iris Eytan wiped away tears and mouthed “thank you” to the jury, as Tom Fallis hugged both of his attorneys, showing little emotion.
Fallis was charged with second-degree murder after being accused of shooting and killing his wife Ashley Fallis on Jan. 1, 2012, after the couple had hosted a New Year’s Eve party with family and friends at their home in Evans, Colorado.
Ashley Fallis’ family held hands for the verdict, then rushed out of the courtroom looking upset and angry after it was read.
Ashley’s death was initially ruled a suicide by five separate law enforcement agencies, but new witness statements surfaced in 2014 and led to a grand jury investigation. Fallis was ultimately indicted for second-degree murder in November 2014.