GREELEY, Colo. — Prosecutors said that what was thought to be a routine traffic crash investigation turned into something much worse.
That investigation led to murder charges this week.
A 29-year-old man was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday in the alleged killing of his girlfriend, 28-year-old Haley Rippetoe, outside her crashed car in Weld County last month.
Justin De Nileon Jr. was arrested in the early morning hours of June 21 in the backyard of his parents’ Commerce City home, just hours after he allegedly caused a head-on collision with Rippetoe’s vehicle.
According to an affidavit, Nileon had followed Rippetoe from her workplace to the location where the crash occurred near the intersection of Weld County Road 7 and Weld County Road 6 in Erie.
Erie police responded to a crash around 1 a.m. and discovered Rippetoe dead outside her vehicle.
Investigators later determined that the blood evidence at the scene was not consistent with a traffic crash or with someone being ejected from a vehicle, according to a release from the 19th Judicial District.
Additionally, an autopsy found that Rippetoe suffered multiple sharp force injuries to her torso, neck, and head, which were not consistent with a car crash but rather with deliberate violence. Her death was ruled a homicide.
At the crash scene, investigators found signs of intentional damage to the victim's driver's side window and Rippetoe’s seatbelt, which was buckled and cut at the top of the shoulder belt, suggesting someone tried to access the vehicle after the crash.
The victim's vehicle was found upright down an embankment on the side of the road.
However, the affidavit states that the evidence shows Rippetoe's vehicle rolled onto its roof during the initial collision and then was struck a second time, causing it to roll back onto its tires.
Investigators concluded that De Nileon intentionally caused the crash and then inflicted fatal injuries on Rippetoe, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors said De Nileon has a long history of violence toward the victim. He was arrested in May for kidnapping, felony menacing, and assault against Rippetoe.
