STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 The three suspects arrested in connection with the death of Elliot Stahl will stand trial on first-degree murder charges, and they will continue to be held without bond. Judge Michael O\u2019Hara issued the ruling Friday, Jan. 17, at the conclusion of a four-day preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n
The three defendants \u2014 William C. Ellifritz, 26; Brooke L. Forquer, 21; and Skyla M. Piccolo-Laabs, 23, all Craig residents \u2014 face separate trials on charges of first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree felony murder, aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.<\/p>\n
The \u201cheart of the case,\u201d said Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Jennings after all evidence had been presented, is the fact that \u201cElliot Stahl, 26 years old, is no longer here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of Friday\u2019s hearing focused on the two charges related to robbery, which prosecutor Jennings argued was a motivating factor in Stahl\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew Stahl had money,\u201d Jennings argued. \u201cThey knew they weren\u2019t going to Denver. They knew they were going to take the money and leave him [Stahl] in Steamboat, at best. When that plan didn\u2019t work, they resorted to murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stahl\u2019s wallet, its content and his cellphone were never recovered. Nor was the knife believed to be the murder weapon.<\/p>\n
\u201cStahl was going around looking for a ride to Denver, and the purpose for the ride to Denver was a drug run,\u201d Jennings said<\/p>\n
According to testimony, Forquer agreed to drive Stahl to Denver in her car for $100 in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2019. She and Stahl were accompanied in the car by Piccolo-Laabs and Ellifritz. Forquer received the $100 before they left Craig, according to investigators.<\/p>\n
But it was their plan to trick Stahl, Jennings said, arguing the three defendants were in agreement they were never actually going to take Stahl to Denver. And it was once Stahl learned of this deception that it \u201cupset him and instigated the altercation\u201d that ultimately led to his death, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than go to the hospital or get any help (after the stabbing), they decided to take him to a remote location in Routt County and unceremoniously dump his body on the side of the road,\u201d Jennings said.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara was asked to consider an argument of duress for Forquer and Piccolo-Laabs, based on their assertions that they were threatened and forced into cooperating by Ellifritz.<\/p>\n
But O\u2019Hara said several facts led the court to conclude they were not \u201cunable to get away from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forquer\u2019s defense attorney Erin Wilson argued that Forquer was not complicit because she would have had to have known Ellifritz planned to commit the crime of murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is quite honestly no evidence Ms. Forquer or Ms. Piccolo-Laabs knew if Mr. Stahl had any money. And if he did, how much,\u201d Wilson argued.<\/p>\n
Ellifritz\u2019s defense team argued the statements from Forquer and Piccolo-Laabs contained lies and inconsistencies, and they said the women were motivated by self-preservation.<\/p>\n
The court acknowledged numerous lies in both Forquer\u2019s and Piccolo-Laabs\u2019 statements, O\u2019Hara said, but the court also determined parts of their statements to be true.<\/p>\n
Marshall Breit, the attorney representing Piccolo-Laabs, argued that Piccolo\u2013Laabs didn\u2019t share any of Ellifritz\u2019s intent to commit a crime. He said there was no evidence Piccolo-Laabs had \u201cany idea what Mr. Ellifritz intended to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether or not any of the defendants had prior intention to harm Stahl, O\u2019Hara said once Stahl was injured, they didn\u2019t try to get him help.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court finds the death of Mr. Stahl was facilitated by the acts and omissions of Forquer and Piccolo-Laabs, which resulted in the death of Mr. Stahl,\u201d O\u2019Hara said.<\/p>\n
Both women admitted to stabbing Stahl at the direction of Ellifritz, noted O\u2019Hara, and it isn\u2019t known exactly how those wounds contributed, or didn\u2019t contribute, to his death. The coroner was not able to establish a time of death, O\u2019Hara said, and was not able to estimate how long Stahl lived after sustaining the fatal wound, allegedly inflicted by Ellifritz.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hara acknowledged the sequence of events did not fit neatly into \u201ca classic example of robbery\u201d that entails a person using force to demand possessions from a victim; however, O\u2019Hara disagreed with the defense attorneys\u2019 reasoning that a robbery did not happen.<\/p>\n
Ellifritz is scheduled for arraignment Jan. 23, while Forquer and Piccolo-Laabs will be arraigned March 13.<\/p>\n
Oct. 13, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Murder suspects Skyla M. Piccolo-Laabs and Brooke L. Forquer admit leaving Elliot Stahl\u2019s body at a location near U.S. Forest Service Road 907 and Routt County Road 7 about 8.5 miles south of Yampa on the way to the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. Read more:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Body of Steamboat man, 26, found south of Yampa; sheriff believes death to be a homicide<\/span><\/a><\/u>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 3 people arrested on 1st-degree murder charges in connection to death of 26-year-old Steamboat man<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/p>\n Judge rules \u2018no bond\u2019 for suspects in murder of Steamboat man pending filing of formal charges<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/p>\n Suspects officially charged with 3 felonies in connection with Steamboat man\u2019s murder<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n Murder suspects won\u2019t be back in court until 2020<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Oct. 14, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0A fisherman discovers Stahl\u2019s body at around 10:30 a.m. The Routt County Sheriff\u2019s Office responds to the scene and secures the area.
\n<\/span>Oct. 15, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Colorado Bureau of Investigation processes the body and the crime scene. That afternoon, an autopsy is performed by forensic pathologist Dr. Michael A. Burson in Loveland.
\n<\/span>Oct. 17, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Sheriff identifies the victim as 26-year-old Elliot Stahl, of Steamboat Springs, believes death to be a homicide.
\n<\/span>Oct. 19, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Piccolo-Laabs, 23, William C. Ellifritz, 26, and Forquer, 21, all from Craig, are arrested on one count each of first-degree murder and booked into the Routt County Jail around 11:40 p.m.
\n<\/span>Oct. 21, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a014th Judicial District Judge Shelley Hill<\/span>\u00a0rules the three suspects are to be held without bond.
\n<\/span>Oct. 25, 2019:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0The three suspects are officially charged by District Attorney Matt Karzen on one count of murder in the first degree, a Class 1 felony, along with one count of aggravated robbery, a Class 3 felony, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, a Class 5 felony. They also were charged with one count of abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor.
\n<\/span>Jan. 6, 2020:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0First day of combined preliminary hearing and proof evident hearing for the three defendants in Routt County Court.
\n<\/span>Jan. 7 and 16:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Preliminary hearing continues.
\n<\/span>Jan. 17:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Preliminary hearing concludes. Skyla M. Piccolo-Laabs, William C. Ellifritz and Brooke L. Forquer are denied bond by 14th Judicial District Chief Judge Michael O\u2019Hara. The original charges stand and the case will now move on to three individual trials.<\/span><\/p>\n