Russell Montoya Admitted To Encasing Friend In Concrete, Affidavit Says
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The daughter of the man arrested for allegedly killing his longtime friend in unincorporated Adams County and encasing him in concrete was the one who turned her father in, according to court documents. Investigators said Russell Montoya Jr. confessed to shooting Shane Nelson, 38, during a fight on Nov. 8.
Nelson's body was later found encased in concrete in the basement of an apartment in the 7800 block of York Street near the Thornton city limits.
Montoya's daughter told investigators Nelson was a friend of her father's for about 25 years. According to an arrest affidavit, the daughter said Nelson came over to their home on York Street the night he was killed.
Montoya's daughter left home that night and when she returned the next morning, she told police her father was "sweaty and acting very nervous" and asked if she needed to go to her room in the basement.
When the daughter walked down the stairs into the basement she told investigators she was met with an overpowering "horrible" and indescribable odor. According to the affidavit, she described smelling bleach, vomit and burnt hair along with a strong chemical odor. The daughter also observed a reddish-brown stain in the carpet on the center of every step leading into the basement.
When the daughter texted her father asking about the stain, he said there was a fight and someone threw up on the stairs.
On Wednesday, the daughter noticed a missing persons report for Nelson on social media and asked her dad about it. He responded that he shared the post and hoped Nelson was okay.
Investigators said the daughter noticed that the concrete in the basement laundry room appeared to be freshly poured. When the daughter confronted Montoya about her suspicions on the phone, she told police he confessed that he and Nelson got in a fight on Friday and Nelson reached for a pistol tucked in Montoya's waistband. That's when Montoya told his daughter that he drew the pistol and shot Nelson in the kitchen.
According to the affidavit, Montoya told his daughter he and his wife spent 12 hours cleaning up the blood before he buried Nelson in concrete in the basement. Montoya told his daughter he had no intention of leaving the house and was going to "keep Shane company." When asked what he would do if she called the police, Montoya told his daughter he would not go to prison and would "shoot it out" with the cops.
The Adams County Sheriff's Office SWAT team executed a search warrant of the home late on Nov. 14 and took Montoya into custody. In an interview with investigators, Montoya said he made the decision to to keep Nelson's body in the home and make him a "tomb" in the laundry room. He also told investigators he believed it was self defense when he shot Nelson because he reached for his gun.
Montoya faces several charges, including first-degree murder, concealing death and abuse of a corpse. His wife refused to speak with detectives without an attorney present and was released pending charges.
