Tanner Flores gets life sentence in Ashley Doolittle murder
As he waited for the judge to appear and deliver his sentence, Tanner Flores sat between his two defense attorneys with his head bowed.
On Wednesday, a jury convicted Flores of the murder and kidnapping of 18-year-old Ashley Doolittle. On Thursday, he officially learned he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Eighth Judicial District Judge Gregory Lammons sentenced Flores to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 32 years in prison for the kidnapping charge. Flores was convicted of first-degree murder after deliberation, felony murder and second-degree kidnapping.
The brief sentencing hearing on Thursday brought to a close the most high-profile case of teenage domestic violence in the region in recent history.
"Tanner did more than murder Ashley, he destroyed two families," said Ann Marie Doolittle, Ashley's mother, as she read a prepared statement to the court.
Doolittle recalled her daughter's empathetic nature and said that even when Ashley decided she didn't want to date Flores anymore, she worried about his feelings. She described Ashley as a caring and goofy teenager who acted as a second mom to her little brother.
"No one can begin to imagine the pain and agony that one goes through when they lose a child," Doolittle said during her tearful statement.
Flores quietly declined to address the court. His family members, who had been in the courtroom every day of the trial, sat behind him during the sentencing hearing but did not offer any statements to the court.
Doolittle expressed her sympathies to his assembled family members.
"Our hearts go out to the Flores family, as we know they are going through their own grief and heartache," she said.
During her statement, she mourned the loss of memories she'll never get to make with her daughter, like celebrating her college graduation, walking her down the aisle at her wedding or joyfully welcoming grandchildren.
Lammons offered only brief remarks before handing down the sentence.
"There's nothing I can say that Ms. Doolittle hasn't already said," he said.
Flores killed Doolittle in June 2016 after she ended her romantic relationship with him. Doolittle, who was 18 when she died, was active in 4-H, an FFA leader and was posthumously named the 2017 Boulder County Fair and Rodeo Queen. She was planning to attend Colorado State University.
Her parents, Jeff and Ann Marie Doolittle, have since established the Ashley Doolittle Foundation — designed to preserve her legacy, raise awareness about teenage dating violence and honor her love of the family's western heritage.
Bailiffs led Flores — who was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs — from the courtroom, after which the families filed into the hallway.
"Two people lost their lives today, and that's a tragedy," Doolittle family friend Rusty LeNeve said outside the courtroom.
About domestic violence
Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse by a dating partner each year. Girls and young women ages 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence, and violent behavior often begins between the sixth and 12th grades.
About one-third of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse, and 81 percent of parents either do not think or do not know if teenage dating violence is an issue.
Behaviors by a partner that are warning signs:
- Checking your cellphone or email without permission
- Constantly putting you down
- Extreme jealousy or insecurity
- Explosive temper
- Isolating you from family or friends
- Making false accusations
- Mood swings
- Physically hurting you in any way
- Possessiveness
- Telling you what to do
- Pressuring you or forcing you to have sex
Source: Ashley Doolittle Foundation
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