CO KELSIE JEAN SCHELLING: Missing from Pueblo, CO - 5 Feb 2013 - Age 21 *Donthe Lucas GUILTY of murder*

Kelsie Jean Schelling
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Schelling, circa 2013; Age-progression to age 26 (circa 2017); Some of Schelling's tattoos; Schelling's car; Donthe Lucas

Missing Since: 02/05/2013
Missing From: Pueblo, Colorado
Classification: Endangered Missing
Sex: Female
Race: White
Date of Birth: 02/18/1991 (28)
Age: 21 years old
Height and Weight: 5'2 - 5'4, 120 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description: A black coat with a fur-trimmed hood over a light gray jacket, black Victoria's Secret workout pants, tan UGG's boots and stud earrings. Carrying a black and pink Victoria's Secret bag containing personal belongings, including a day's worth of clothing and personal hygiene items.
Medical ConditionsSchelling was eight weeks pregnant at the time of her disappearance; the baby's due date was September 13.
Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Schelling has the following tattoos: a Chinese symbol on the back of her neck, cursive writing on the inside of her left arm, a green skeleton key with the word "love" high on the left side of her chest, the Roman numerals XCI high on the right side of her chest, and a fleur-de-lis symbol on the right side of her ribcage. Photos of some of her tattoos are posted with this case summary.

Details of Disappearance
Schelling was last seen in Pueblo, Colorado on February 5, 2013. The previous day she got an ultrasound confirming her pregnancy, and sent the pictures to family members and her boyfriend, Donthe Isiah Lucas, who was the father of the unborn child.

A photo of Lucas is posted with this case summary. He called Schelling and asked her to come from her hometown in Denver to his home in Pueblo, two hours' drive away, that evening after work. He said he wanted to talk privately and he had something to give her. She left at 8:30 p.m. and apparently did arrive for the meeting.

She sent Lucas text messages saying she was waiting for him at the agreed-upon location, asking where he was at, and ultimately threatening to go home without seeing him because she was getting tired. Schelling was driving a black 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ with the license plate number 023-WRL when she went to meet Lucas; a photo of the car is posted with this case summary.

Lucas was interviewed by police on February 15. He said he met Schelling as planned and drove her in her car to different locations. He said she felt sick, so he took her to Parkview Medical Center in the 400 block of west 16th Street, and stayed in the car while she went inside to get medical attention.

Afterwards they went to the Canon National Bank, where Schelling allowed him to use her debit card and withdraw money from her account. He then took her to Wal-Mart, where they got into an argument and she told him she had to go back to Denver because she had to work the next day.

Police arrested Lucas after his interview and charged him three counts of identity theft and one count of theft of less than $500 for using Schelling's card, but the charge was later dropped.

There is no record of Schelling getting treatment at Parkview Medical Center, and surveillance video at the hospital didn't show her coming inside. Surveillance footage at the bank showed Lucas driving up and withdrawing money from a cash machine, but the video did not show Schelling inside the car.

Security footage from a local Wal-Mart showed the car being driven into the business's parking lot at 12:05 a.m. on February 5. The tape showed Lucas getting out of Schelling's car and walking to his mother's car in the same lot, but there was no sign of Schelling and her car was left in the lot overnight.

An unknown male wearing a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses, and gloves picked it up at 7:20 a.m. The vehicle was found abandoned at St. Mary Corwin Hospital in Pueblo on February 14, nine days after she was last seen; security footage showed someone driving it into the parking lot there at 5:30 a.m. on February 7. The unidentified driver locked it and walked away. Some items missing from the car when it was found included a black rosary, a metal sign reading "Love", a tie-dyed teddy bear and the car keys, which may have had a keychain reading "Love".

Schelling met Lucas while they were both attending Northeastern Junior College. She eventually transferred to Vanguard University in California and he transferred to Emporia State University in Kansas, where he was on the basketball team. He dreamed of playing basketball professionally.

Schelling moved back to Denver at the end of her first semester at Vanguard and got a job at the Floor & Decor store in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Lucas went to visit her over Christmas break, and this was when she became pregnant.

Schelling told her mother Lucas wasn't happy about the pregnancy; sometimes she was afraid he would abandon her and the baby after it was born, and other times he threatened to take the baby away from her.

In November 2017, Lucas was arrested on aggravated robbery charges unrelated to Schelling's disappearance. In December, while still in custody for the robbery, he was charged with first-degree murder in Schelling's case. Police stated her body has not been found, and the charges were the result of evidence accumulated over their nearly five-year investigation. He is awaiting trial.

Schelling left all her belongings behind at her apartment and gave no indication that she planned to walk out of her life, and her phone battery died on February 7. There hasn't been any activity on Schelling's bank accounts, cellular phone or social media pages since her disappearance. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.

Investigating Agency
Pueblo Police Department 719-553-2470

Source Information
NamUs
Facebook Page for Kelsie Schelling
Denver Westword Blogs
ABC 7 News
The Pueblo Chieftain
The Flathead Beacon
KOAA 5
The Denver Post
KRDO
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Pueblo Crime Stoppers

 
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Kelsie Schelling went missing from Pueblo, Colorado on the night of February 4, 2013, after driving there from her home in Denver to meet her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas. The 21-year-old was two months pregnant with the couple's child, a reported stress point in the relationship. Video released by the Pueblo Police Department shows Schelling’s black 2011 Chevrolet Cruze parked in front of a Walmart store around noon the following day. The vehicle had been left there overnight. The next day at 7:20 a.m., an unidentified man can be seen getting into Schelling’s car and driving away. The car was found abandoned a week later at Saint Mary Corwin Medical Center. In November of 2017, tips led police to conduct searches in several different areas of Pueblo in connection with Kelsie’s case, but authorities told Dateline they were unable to find anything of significance. On December 1, 2017, police arrested Donthe Lucas for the first-degree murder of Kelsie. In August of 2018, Lucas pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. The trial was scheduled to start in April 2019, but new evidence found in the case over the summer postponed it until January 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial was pushed back to September and again to January 25, 2021. Police said because the investigation remains active, they cannot provide details on what led to the arrest. Police told Dateline they have not found Kelsie’s remains. If you have any information about Kelsie's case, please contact the Pueblo Crime Stoppers at (719) 542-7867.
 

Trial date set for suspect in Kelsie Schelling disappearance​

Nearly eight years after a Colorado woman went missing, a trial date has been set for the man suspected in her disappearance.

It’s been a long road towards justice for family and friends of Kelsie Schelling, who saw years go by without an arrest in the case before Schelling’s boyfriend Donthe Lucas was charged in 2017. Since Lucas’ arrest, the trial has been pushed back at least four times.

11 News has learned the trial will begin Jan. 25, 2021, barring unforeseen circumstances involving the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent trial pushback earlier this year was due to the pandemic.
 

Jury selection begins in trial against Colorado man accused of killing pregnant girlfriend Kelsie Schelling​

After nearly eight years and four delays, the trial for the suspect in the 2013 disappearance of a Colorado woman has finally begun.

The trial against Donthe Lucas formally began at 8:30 Monday morning with day one of what is expected to be seven days of jury selection.


Nearly eight years later and Kelsie Schelling’s case goes to trial​

For nearly eight years the disappearance of Kelsie Schelling has left her family waiting and wondering to find out what happened to her. Jury selection began Monday for the man accused of murdering her, Donthe Lucas.
 

Jury seated in trial of Donthe Lucas, man accused of killing Kelsie Schelling​

Just over a week after selection began, a jury has been seated in the trial of the man accused of killing Kelsie Schelling.

Jury selection in the trial of Donthe Lucas began January 25, after years of delays. Twelve jurors and four alternates were sworn in Tuesday afternoon. They are to report back to the courtroom in Pueblo Wednesday at 8 a.m.


Day 1 of Donthe Lucas murder trial complete​

Details of prosecution and defense opening statement

First witness was Kelsie's mother. Second witness was a jail inmate with Donthe Lucas.

LOTS OF DETAILS AT LINK
 

Jury seated in trial of Donthe Lucas, man accused of killing Kelsie Schelling​

Just over a week after selection began, a jury has been seated in the trial of the man accused of killing Kelsie Schelling.

Jury selection in the trial of Donthe Lucas began January 25, after years of delays. Twelve jurors and four alternates were sworn in Tuesday afternoon. They are to report back to the courtroom in Pueblo Wednesday at 8 a.m.


Day 1 of Donthe Lucas murder trial complete​

Details of prosecution and defense opening statement

First witness was Kelsie's mother. Second witness was a jail inmate with Donthe Lucas.

LOTS OF DETAILS AT LINK
He told a jail mate that his mom helped him hide her body? This is craziness if it’s true. And no wonder he thought it’s OK to do what he did. This is where parents need to be strong and hold their children accountable for wrongdoing so they don’t turn into monsters.
 

@ColetteBordelon

·
Let’s talk about what was being said before this witness testimony, when the jurors weren’t in the courtroom. Basically, in pretrial, the defense wanted allegations about #Lucas abusing #Schellingnot included in the trial. They call it hearsay.
@KOAA

The defense said it forces them to fight both a murder case, and a domestic violence case. Ultimately the information was included, along with accusations the prosecution didn’t want in the trial, regarding #Schelling’s father’s alleged abuse.
@KOAA
 
Kinzie said one instance in December that Schelling reached out to her to have dinner and said that Lucas hit her. At that moment, Lucas was staying at Schelling's apartment and Kinzie said Schelling wanted to meet right away to get away from the apartment. Kinzie said the last time she heard from Schelling was on Feb. 4, 2013, when she was headed to her doctor's appointment.

During cross-examination of Kinzie, the defense asked about the night where the two women met for dinner and Kinzie said Schelling told her Lucas hit her. However, Schelling apparently told Kinzie that her father would come to her apartment in Denver and “beat her.” The defense asks Kinzie, “isn’t it true Schelling said her dad strangled her?” Kinzie says no.

She also said Lucas reached out to her when Schelling went missing, suggesting that Schelling was popping pills and that she could be where she got pills from. Kinzie also talked about Lucas texting her and asking her if she wanted to help him search for Schelling in Denver. “It actually kind of scared me.”
<snip>
Schelling's friend Brooke Taylor took the stand and described the last day she saw Schelling in 2013. She said Schelling was getting texts from Donthe Lucas all that day.

Some of those texts included Lucas calling Schelling a variety of swear words, and saying "b**** I'll f*** you up."

The defense cross-examined Taylor and pointed out that she didn't see all of the texts Schelling was sending to Lucas that day. Then that night, Schelling drove down to Pueblo to see Lucas. This was not the night of Feb. 4, 2013, but an undetermined date in Jan. 2013.
<snip>
During cross-examination, the defense has Cox testify to seeing Donthe Lucas drive Schelling to and from work at least two-dozen times. According to Colette Bordelon, the point the defense was making here was in regards to the prosecution's argument about Lucas' DNA being found in the car after Schelling disappeared.

Cox also stated that she overheard Lucas call Schelling fat, ugly, and not worthy of anyone's attention multiple times a month. She said Schelling would "soak it up like a sponge, to the point that she seemed like a beaten animal."

More about yesterday's testimony can be found here: Day 2 of Donthe Lucas murder trial: Several friends of Kelsie Schelling take the stand
 

Day 4, Feb. 8 A member of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation testified that Lucas texted his mother, Sara, that Kelsie apparently had a miscarriage before she disappeared. Two Denver law enforcement members said Lucas told them the same thing during their initial investigation of Kelsie’s disappearance.

Those law enforcement officials said Lucas told them he and Kelsie went to Parkview Medical Center on Feb. 5, 2013, where she allegedly told Lucas she apparently wasn’t pregnant anymore. But, the prosecution said there were no records of Kelsie being at Parkview at all.
 

Day 4, Feb. 8 A member of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation testified that Lucas texted his mother, Sara, that Kelsie apparently had a miscarriage before she disappeared. Two Denver law enforcement members said Lucas told them the same thing during their initial investigation of Kelsie’s disappearance.

Those law enforcement officials said Lucas told them he and Kelsie went to Parkview Medical Center on Feb. 5, 2013, where she allegedly told Lucas she apparently wasn’t pregnant anymore. But, the prosecution said there were no records of Kelsie being at Parkview at all.
Why would he make that up?
 
@CarolAMcKinley


Someone who was in the courtroom Tuesday tested positive. We don’t know who. Everyone who walks into court is asked about symptoms and temp is taken. #KelsieSchelling


This might slow the trial down, not sure.

Kelsie Schelling murder trial delayed 2 weeks due to COVID case​

The murder trial against a man for the 2013 disappearance of his pregnant girlfriend has been delayed two weeks due to a COVID case, KRDO reported on Wednesday.

Colorado Courts tweeted at 9:12 a.m. that the trial against Donthe Lucas for his alleged role in the death of Kelsie Schelling is currently scheduled to resume at 1:15 p.m. on Feb. 24.
 

Kelsie Schelling murder trial delayed 2 weeks due to COVID case​

The murder trial against a man for the 2013 disappearance of his pregnant girlfriend has been delayed two weeks due to a COVID case, KRDO reported on Wednesday.

Colorado Courts tweeted at 9:12 a.m. that the trial against Donthe Lucas for his alleged role in the death of Kelsie Schelling is currently scheduled to resume at 1:15 p.m. on Feb. 24.
:sigh:
 

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