Man Found Guilty Of Murdering Former Business Partner
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4)- A man charged with murdering his former business partner has been found guilty.
After two and a half hours of deliberation Friday afternoon, jurors found Rex Fowler guilty of killing Thomas Ciancio December 30, 2009. Fowler was immediately sentenced to life without parole in the Colorado Dept. of Corrections.
"Guided by the spirit of Tom, we'll use this, I think, to try to gain closure, and to move to peace," said Thomas Ciancio's brother David Ciancio after the jury's verdict.
Defense attorneys had admitted that Fowler killed Ciancio, but said the shooting was not premeditated.
The shooting happened at Fowler Software, 8391 Delaware Street in unincorporated Adams County. Prosecutors say Ciancio believed Fowler had funneled as much as $250,000 from the company to the Church of Scientology where Fowler was a high ranking church member.
In a previous ruling the judge said that the fact Fowler is a Scientologist will not play a part in the trial.
Prosecutors claimed Ciancio resigned from the firm in Nov. 2009 due to Fowler diverting funds.
Fowler's attorneys said the company was in financial trouble and that Fowler planned to kill himself that day. Instead he shot and killed Ciancio, then turned the gun on himself.
Ciancio's wife testified that her husband was there to collect a $9,000 severance check.
