Deputies fired amid internal investigation in Colo. mom's death
EVANS, Colo. -- Two sheriff's deputies in Weld County, Colorado have been fired, according to a Weld County Sheriff Department source, and an independent investigation is underway to review why the deputies didn't follow protocol in the shooting death of Ashley Fallis in 2012.
Fallis, a 28-year-old mother of three, was shot to death in the early morning of Jan. 1, 2012 at her home in Evans, Colo., about an hour north of Denver. Her death was originally ruled a suicide, but her family has maintained she was murdered.
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After a Fox 31 Denver television news report two years later raised serious questions about the investigation, the case was reopened. Fallis' husband, Tom, a corrections officer employed by the Weld County Sheriff's Office, was charged in her death in November 2014.
The source confirmed to "48 Hours" that three Weld County sheriff's deputies and a supervisor who were at the scene assisting the Evans Police Department the morning Fallis died are all the subjects of an internal review. There were never any reports filed by the sheriff's deputies, and according to Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams, one of the deputies might have material information on the shooting.
Evans Police Chief Rick Brandt said early this month that a special investigator hired by his department was told by one deputy sheriff that the deputy overheard a suspect confess to killing Ashley Fallis.
Brandt said he told the Weld County District Attorney's Office that the deputy had not previously reported that fact and county sheriff Reams ordered an internal investigation.
Nearby Fort Collins police are currently investigating the criminal aspects of the shooting and will now take over the investigation into whether there was any wrongdoing by Weld County sheriff's deputies. According to a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, the deputies could face criminal charges if it is found that they obstructed justice.
Weld County is also reviewing whether or not the third deputy and the supervisor followed protocol.
Rick Blundell, a lawyer for one of the deputies, is alleging the deputies were told they couldn't speak with Evans police without the sheriff's permission, reports Fox 31 Denver.
The Weld County Sheriff released this statement:
"On March 19th 2015, the Weld County Sheriff's Office received new information that a deputy might have material information about the Fallis family investigation that had never been reported. When the Weld County Sheriff's Office learned of this new information, an internal investigation was launched. During the internal investigation, three deputies and one supervisor were identified as being directly on scene during the Fallis incident...The Weld County Sheriff's Office will continue to assist Evans and Fort Collins police with any information that may be necessary for a complete investigation."
The trial date for Tom Fallis in the death of his wife has not yet been set.
Lindsey Gutterman is a "48 Hours" producer.