Shawna Elizabeth

The Murder of Heather Lynn Garraus : Crime Documentary

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• published: 04 Apr 2016
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The woman accused of killing the wife of a Greeley police officer sent threatening text messages just weeks before the shooting, alluding to the affair she had with the officer, according to court documents released Tuesday. Shawna Nelson allegedly sent a text message to Officer Ignacio Garraus on Dec. 18, which said: "My loyalty is gone. I loved and trusted u and u (expletive) me. Be prepared," said an arrest affidavit. Nelson, 35, faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the Jan. 23 shooting death of 37-year-old Heather Garraus. Garraus was killed as she left work at the Colorado State Employees Credit Union in Greeley, where she worked as an assistant branch manager. Nelson's two-year affair with Ignacio Garraus resulted in a baby boy, now 10 months old. Heather Garraus had learned of the affair in the weeks before her death. Nelson is married to Ken Nelson, a Weld County sheriff's deputy. Documents said he confronted his wife shortly after the shooting when information about the suspect aired on police radios, court documents said. Nelson saw his Ford truck on a Greeley street and stopped it. He ran up and began yelling at the driver, identified as his wife, Shawna Nelson. Ken Nelson, who was accompanied by a Greeley police officer, soon sped away for home, to ensure the couple's children were safe, according to the affidavit. Police took Shawna Nelson into custody. She told them she had nothing to do with the shooting and was running errands. Documents also said that Heather Garraus told her co-workers and friends that Nelson had been harassing her for weeks before the shooting. There had been disagreements over the custody of the baby, and the Nelsons had filed papers to terminate Ignacio Garraus' parental rights. An attorney for Ignacio Garraus, meanwhile, had told Shawna Nelson to keep away from his client. On the night of the shooting, witnesses said they saw a woman dressed in black with a black mask confront Heather Garraus outside the credit union, the documents said. The witnesses said the woman told Garraus, "You ruined my life. Get on the ground." They said they heard Garraus say, "OK, OK," and saw her bend to one knee. The witnesses told authorities they heard two gunshots and saw the woman in black run from the scene. Citing a conflict of interest, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck has withdrawn from the case and turned it over to the Larimer County district attorney in Fort Collins. Documents released Tuesday said that Ken Nelson separated from Shawna Nelson in 2005, after he learned of her affair. Ken Nelson filed for divorce and began seeing an attorney in the Weld County DA's office.