Murder defendant wants death, threatens to kill police officer
David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 13, 2007 at midnight
FAIRPLAY — A man accused of killing a 24-year-old geological survey intern told a court Monday he wants a death sentence and will kill a police officer if he doesn't get it.
Robert Amos represented himself at his preliminary hearing in the slaying of Alyssa Heberton Morimoto. He said he wanted to do the right thing by seeking the death penalty.
Amos is accused of strangling Morimoto near a campground deep in the San Isabel National Forest on June 26. She was working for the Colorado Geological Survey.
Amos faces murder and kidnapping charges plus five other counts, including unlawful felony transport of the victim and carrying a semi-automatic rifle in violation of his conviction for a 1981 murder in Kansas that sent him to prison for nearly 20 years. Three additional counts related to the Kansas conviction were added as sentence enhancers, meaning they can be used to justify a stiffer sentence.
The district attorney had intended to seek life in prison for Amos,
which angered the defendant. He insisted that death was the proper
punishment and threatened to kill a police officer to ensure his wish
would be carried out.
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