Man guilty in suicide pact

Effland faces prison in 2005 deaths of wife, daughter

Jonathan Garcia, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 28, 2006 at midnight

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ARAPAHOE COUNTY - Marna Arnett wept Tuesday as a court bailiff handcuffed her 57-year-old father to return him to jail.

Her father, Phillip Effland, had been convicted moments earlier of second-degree murder and two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of his wife, Denise, and daughter, Brenna, in July 2005.

Arapahoe District Judge Marilyn Leonard Autrim announced the verdict at 1:45 p.m. as Effland's head hung low.

Effland had been charged with first-degree murder after a suicide pact he, his wife and daughter Brenna had made went awry. All three took prescription medicines to kill themselves, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Department.

Arnett, 23, of Denver, was the first to alert authorities last year that something was wrong at her parents' home after she couldn't reach them.

Deputies discovered Brenna Effland dead from the drug overdose. Phillip Effland was found incoherent, having survived the suicide attempt. Denise Effland had been shot to death, allegedly by her husband when he awoke from a drugged sleep and found her still alive.

Centennial authorities believe the suicide pact was a result of the family's financial troubles and pending eviction from their home.

Effland suffered from a degenerative disease in his upper spine. He and Brenna also had been diagnosed with bipolar disorders.

"He is not a well man," said Effland's sister, Caroline Diani. She sat next to Arnett in the courtroom and cried with her when the verdict was read.

"We're extremely disappointed and heartbroken," Diani said. "We feel that he was not guilty."

Also in court were Denise Effland's parents and Phillip Effland's best friends. One of Effland's attorneys, Beth Turner, acknowledged that his surviving family members were devastated by the verdict.

"They didn't want him to be convicted," she said.

Prosecutors Daniel May and Vicki Klingensmith said they thought the jury's decision was appropriate.

"The jury discussed it for a long time," May said, about 10 hours over two days.

May said the jury probably reduced the conviction from first-degree murder to second-degree murder because it felt Effland was under the influence of the drugs he had taken.

Effland's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2.

He faces 16 to 48 years in prison for second-degree murder and up to six years each on the two manslaughter convictions.

"I certainly hope that the judge gives him the minimum," Diani said. "She knows how we feel."

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