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Arvada man sentenced to almost 40 years in prison for 2020 murder of roommate

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Posted at 4:40 PM, Jun 09, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-09 18:40:06-04

GOLDEN, Colo. — An Arvada man who was found guilty of murdering his roommate in 2020 was sentenced to almost 40 years behind bars on Wednesday.

Tyler Condit, 33, was sentenced on Wednesday to 38 years in the Department of Corrections for the murder of Joseph Elsey, 22, of Arvada in 2020. He could have faced 16 to 78 years in prison, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Following a trial, he was found guilty on May 5 of second-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.

The charges stem from Aug. 29, 2020, when police responded to an Arvada apartment along the 6400 block of Simms Street after Elsey's friend reported that nobody had heard from the man since Aug. 24. When police entered the apartment, they found blood and signs that somebody had attempted to clean up the scene, according to the district attorney’s office.

Based on the investigation, police learned Elsey had lived at the apartment. Condit had recently moved in.

The blood in the apartment was tested and ended up belonging to Elsey.

His car was found in Denver. Police said it smelled of bleach, according to the district attorney’s office.

On Sept. 1, 2020, Condit was arrested by Arvada officers. Nine days later, he was charged with murder.

Five days after Condit's arrest, Elsey's body was found in Clear Creek County. It had been out in the elements for about two weeks, the district attorney’s office said.

During the subsequent trial, jurors learned that Elsey had been stabbed in the neck. Condit testified that the two men had had an argument and Elsey had threatened him with a knife. Prosecutors said Condit had stuffed Elsey's body into a tote and left the remains in Clear Creek, and noted Condit's lack of remorse and accountability.

They asked for the maximum possible sentence.

Condit was sentenced to 38 years for the second-degree murder charge, 24 years to the charge of tampering with a deceased body, and three years each for the two charges of tampering with physical evidence. The sentences are concurrent, with 646 days or pre-sentence confinement credit.