Man guilty of all charges in Fort Collins murder

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UPDATE 8/10:Corzo-Avendano is sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Tolentino Corzo-Avendano will likely face life in prison after a 12-person jury convicted him of all charges Wednesday, including first-degree murder.

The jury made quick work of six guilty verdicts for Corzo-Avendano, deliberating for less than a day and a half after nine days of gut-wrenching testimony. The District Attorney's Office accused Corzo-Avendano of entering a Fort Collins home in February 2016 and stabbing the two women inside, killing one and leaving the other for dead in a pool of her own blood as her 2-year-old daughter watched in tears.

Corzo-Avendano, 27, sat unflinching as Eighth Judicial District Judge Julie Kunce Field read out the guilty verdict for the first four charges: First-degree murder after deliberation, felony murder, criminal attempt to commit murder and first-degree assault.

It wasn’t until the fifth guilty verdict — first-degree burglary — that Corzo-Avendano broke composure, reaching for a tissue and wiping away tears. The jury also found him guilty of child abuse. Each verdict was unanimous, a legal requirement for criminal charges in Colorado.

Corzo-Avendano will be sentenced Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at the Larimer County Justice Center, but the murder charges carry a minimum life sentence. 

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Corzo-Avendano’s defense pointed to his co-defendant, Tomas Vigil, as the true assailant in the February 2016 stabbing. Vigil testified against Corzo-Avendano to secure a plea deal, a move public defender Kathryn Hay branded “a deal with the devil.”

Vigil testified that he stood by, "frozen," as Corzo-Avendano began beating Sara Mondragon and said he ran from the home because he was afraid.

Vigil's plea deal whittled his charges down from 20 offenses to a single count of first-degree burglary. He will face a mandatory sentence of 10 to 24 years in prison. Vigil is next due in court Aug. 25.

Corzo-Avendano’s defense hinged largely on the absence of his DNA at the crime scene and the notion that stabbing victim Sara Mondragon misidentified her attacker because of blood loss, injuries and brain trauma.

But in hours of tear-stained testimony, now-27-year-old Mondragon showed no doubts about who stabbed her. The attack left her paralyzed on her left side, and she now wears a prosthetic left eye and struggles to walk. Her grandmother, 61-year-old Kathy Mondragon died as a result of her injuries. Sara Mondragon’s now-4-year-old daughter was at the home during the attack, and Sara Mondragon testified that Corzo-Avendano threw the toddler against the wall before fleeing the home.

In an unexpected testimony, Corzo-Avendano took the stand this week in his own defense and denied stabbing Sara and Kathy Mondragon. He told the jury he fell on top of Sara Mondragon and accidentally hit her in the face after going in for what prosecutors labeled a “clumsy kiss.” Then he said he fled the home because he was worried the noise had awoken Kathy Mondragon.

The prosecution laid out a different version of events, arguing that Corzo-Avendano barged into the Mondragon home high on meth with a plan to stab his ex-girlfriend and her grandmother.

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that prosecutors have not indicated they are pursuing the death penalty.

Case tracker: Larimer County murder cases

Eric Gray: Gray is accused of shooting of his Loveland neighbor, Gerald Donovan, 75, on June 6, 2015. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation. He’s next due in court for a status conference Nov. 3.

Tanner Flores: Flores is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend, Ashley Doolittle, 18, repeatedly before driving her body to Mesa County on June 9, 2016. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, among other felony charges and sentence enhancers. He is next due in court for a motions hearing Aug. 24. His case is scheduled for a jury trial beginning Sept. 25.

Joshua Baker: Baker is one of three Cincinnati men reportedly involved in the robbery-turned-shooting of Devon Smeltz, 20, on Aug. 26, 2016. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, among other felony charges and sentence enhancers. He’s next due in court for a status conference Aug. 25.

Lawrence Greggs: Greggs is one of three Cincinnati men reportedly involved in the robbery-turned-shooting of Devon Smeltz, 20, on Aug. 26, 2016. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, among other felony and misdemeanor charges. He’s next due in court for a status conference Aug. 25.

Michael Gresham: Gresham is one of three Cincinnati men reportedly involved in the robbery-turned-shooting of Devon Smeltz, 20, on Aug. 26, 2016. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, among other felony and misdemeanor charges. He’s next due in court for a preliminary hearing Aug. 25.

Juan Canales-Hernandez: Canales-Hernandez is accused of hitting RaeLynn Martinez, who was not yet 1 year old, in the head with a chair while he was babysitting her Sept. 7, 2016. Martinez died from her injuries. He has been charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse, among other felony charges and sentence enhancers. He’s next due in court for a hearing Aug. 24.

Matthew Tatti: Tatti was reportedly involved in the beating and stabbing of Benjamin McKinley, 44, in an abandoned building in Fort Collins on Nov. 18, 2016. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation. He is next due in court for a pretrial conference Nov. 16. His case is scheduled for a jury trial beginning Nov. 28.

David Strunk: Strunk is accused of stabbing Duane Gardner, 50, at a Fort Collins apartment complex on Nov. 21, 2016. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation. He is next due in court for a status conference Sept. 21.

Jeffrey Etheridge: Etheridge is accused of killing and sexually assaulting 23-year-old Heather “Helena” Hoffmann, whose body was dumped in Sheldon Lake at City Park on June 21, 2017. He has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and felony sex assault, among other felony charges and sentence enhancers. He’s next due in court for a disposition hearing Aug. 14.

Dylan Thompson: Thompson has been arrested in connection with the killing of William “Bill” Grabusky, whose body was found by Fort Collins police officers in his apartment Aug. 2, 2017. Thompson was arrested in Utah on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, aggravated motor vehicle theft and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device — but he has not yet been formally charged. He remains in custody in the Davis County Jail, and he does not yet have scheduled court appearances.