A juvenile suspected in the death of Shaylie Lynn Boyd has been charged in Montezuma County juvenile district court with first-degree murder and motor vehicle theft, according to the 22nd Judicial District Attorney Matt Margeson.
A formal filing of charges hearing was held Monday in front of District Judge Todd Plewe.
Plewe, Margeson, and the defendant’s public defender, Justin Bogan, addressed various issues in the case.
The defendant was present for the hearing, and was escorted in by court deputies. Dressed in street clothes, she sat with her attorneys as Plewe informed her of the charges and her rights.
She responded briefly to Plewe’s queries indicating she understood various aspects of the proceedings.
Plewe reported he denied a defense motion to exclude the public from the proceedings of the case.
The District Attorney’s Office has filed a petition requesting transfer of the case from juvenile court to district court where the suspect would be tried as an adult.
A five-day transfer hearing is set to begin Feb. 6, at which time arguments will be heard for and against moving the case to adult court. A decision will be issued by Plewe after the hearing. A status hearing is set for Nov. 4.
During court proceedings it was revealed the suspect is residing at a youth facility in Grand Junction.
Bogan requested that the suspect not be shackled while being transported to Cortez for court hearings. A court deputy informed the court that the shackles are policy for transporting defendants for safety reasons.
Plewe upheld the use of shackles on the defendant and requested more information on the policy.
A protection order was issued preventing the defendant from contacting 15 individuals.
Public information is limited in juvenile criminal cases, according to Colorado Revised Statute 19-1-304 for juvenile records and proceedings. The case records are suppressed and are not available to the public.
Court filings regarding the suspect’s name, detention status and bond arrangements were not available. The arrest affidavit was not available.
The defendant’s name was revealed in court proceedings open to the public. The Journal is not publishing the name of the juvenile defendant unless the court rules she will be tried as an adult.
The case is being heard in juvenile court, unless by petition it is transferred to district court, where the juvenile would be tried as an adult.
Information reporting the arrest and formal filing of charges in juvenile criminal cases are public record, according to the statute.
Boyd was found dead from stab wounds on the evening of July 29 at her residence north of Cortez on County Road L, reported Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin.
The suspect was identified as a 15-year-old female who lived in the home and was related to the victim, he said. The specific relationship was not available.
Sheriff deputies responded after 8 p.m. when friends of Boyd found her dead.
According to the investigation, the suspect fled the scene in the family’s green Dodge Caravan, Nowlin said, then picked up a 16-year-old boy in Cortez. The two turned up on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona after 1 a.m. July 30 in the town of Leupp, 44 miles northeast of Flagstaff.
Nowlin said the 16-year-old boy became separated from the suspect and called his guardians from a convenience store in Leupp. His name was not released.
Navajo Police transported the boy to the Shiprock, New Mexico, police station, where he was picked up by guardians, Nowlin said.
The female suspect later returned to the same convenience store in Leupp, made a phone call and turned herself in, Nowlin said.
She was held by Navajo Police until sheriff’s deputies in Coconino County, Arizona, arrived because she is not a Native American.
She initially was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and was taken to the Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff, Nowlin said. Extradition was arranged for her to be transported to the Montezuma County for court hearings.
