On Wednesday, Scott Edouard Chilleen was sentenced in the 22nd Judicial District to 30 years in the Department of Corrections for the 2021 high-speed crash on Colorado Highway 184 that killed Mary Murphy, 58, and seriously injured Houston Davis.
Chilleen, who is from Mancos, was found guilty on all eight charges against him at a jury trial in January, but a request for an evidentiary hearing from the defense led to several more hearings, culminating with the final sentencing on Wednesday in Chief Judge Todd Plewe’s courtroom.
The crash was determined to be a result of driving under the influence of alcohol at high speeds.
A jury found Chilleen guilty of vehicular homicide under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, vehicular assault under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence for subsequent offense and two counts requiring seat belt use for the driver and front-seat passenger.
Before Plewe announced Chilleen’s sentencing on Wednesday, Murphy’s friends and families addressed the judge, describing the devastating loss they have experienced because of Murphy’s death.
One said she has experienced recurrent nightmares about Murphy dying alone in the aftermath of the crash, saying that Chilleen “should not be given any mercy.” She added that the case has taken “way too long” to come to its completion.
Another said Murphy, who was originally from Phoenix, wouldn’t be able to see her grandchildren grow up. After Murphy’s death, her grandchild was born.
“It’s a catastrophic loss,” she said. “Her grandchildren will not know her. … It is unimaginable.”
According to another named Meghan Gast, both of Murphy’s children were born with cystic fibrosis. Soon after losing her daughter, her husband died from pancreatic cancer. Now, her son is left without his mother, father and sister.
Gast spoke of Chilleen leaving the scene of the crash while Murphy lay dying and Davis was injured, saying, “He left behind these people he claimed to love.”
Davis was asked if he wished to speak before the sentencing, but he told District Attorney Christian Hatfield that he was just “trying to move on with life” and didn’t wish to speak.
The last person to address Plewe was Murphy’s father, Bill Woodburn.
“Mary was the glue to everything,” Woodburn said. “We miss her dearly.”
Before the defense addressed Plewe, Hatfield reminded the courtroom that Murphy’s last words to Chilleen and Davis before the crash were, “I love you guys.”
Chilleen’s attorney, Beale Tejada, acknowledged that Chilleen had multiple DUIs before the fatal crash, adding that Chilleen is more than his record.
“He is not just this case, he is much more than that,” Tejada said. “He just has an alcohol problem.”
Despite his “alcohol problem,” Tejada said that Chilleen had not had any alcohol since the crash two years ago and has complied with court orders.
“He is generally a good person,” he said.
Tejada also read a letter written by Chilleen, who was unable to be present in the courtroom. The letter apologized to Murphy’s family and thanked his family and friends for their support.
“I swore I would take care of Mary, and I failed miserably,” Chilleen’s letter read. “We were very much in love and very lucky to have found her so late in life … I have accepted the role I have played.”
Plewe shared that the “violent crimes” against the two victims in the case that led to the death of Murphy influenced his decision to make sure society is protected.
He added that the story Chilleen told the Colorado State Patrol officer after fleeing the scene was a “completely preposterous story, which is disturbing to me.”
According to reports given during the trial in January, Chilleen told officers that Murphy had been the one driving the vehicle, though her hair was found on the passenger side mirror during the post-crash investigation.
Plewe sentenced Chilleen to 30 years in the Department of Corrections, with credit for the 197 days he has already served in jail.
After the sentencing, Hatfield spoke with The Journal about the decision by Plewe.
“He won’t serve all 30 (years), but from my perspective, Judge Plewe got it exactly right. Whatever the maximum possible was under these charges, that’s what was necessary to protect public safety and prevent it from happening again,” Hatfield said.
“Justice was done,” Hatfield said. “This was the worst vehicular homicide I’ve ever seen.”
During his trial in January, Chilleen denied driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, saying that then 21-year-old Davis was driving the vehicle.
Davis suffered a broken neck in the crash, on Nov. 17, 2021. The truck was estimated to be driving 81 mph in a 65 mph zone.
Hatfield said Murphy and Davis had asked Chilleen to slow down while driving up the hill from Dolores to Colorado 184 after an evening out drinking together.
As he was speeding down the highway, he lost control of the 2001 Chevy Silverado, and Murphy, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle.
She died shortly after officers arrived at the site of the crash. She was found by officers lying under the tree bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears. Officers said she was a in state of agonal breathing.
She died shortly later.
While Murphy and Davis lay injured, reports said Chilleen fled the scene while “the dust was still settling.”
Chilleen was found two hours later by officers about 2 miles from the crash.
“He never once asked if Mary and Houston were OK or if they were even alive,” Sgt. Jacob Lanyon said.
While Chilleen originally told officers that Murphy was the one driving the vehicle, he later switched his story to say Davis had been driving, though Davis was found injured and bleeding from the head in the back seat.
The jury found Chilleen guilty on all counts. His sentencing was originally scheduled for March 18, but the request for an evidentiary hearing pushed it back to July.
