A Colorado woman has been convicted of murder after she and a stranger she met on a bus killed her boyfriend in August 2020.
Ashley White, 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and robbery in the death of her boyfriend, 28-year-old Cody DeLisa, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said White and DeLisa’s relationship was “volatile and strained” in the last few months of their relationship, and DeLisa often criticized White for her inability to secure full-time employment, Fox News reported.
White reportedly wrote in her diary that she wished she had never met DeLisa and express resentment over his comments about her ability to get a job, prosecutors said.
“Her frustration escalated after an incident in which she attempted to drown and burn DeLisa’s cat, a behavior that raised alarms about her mental well-being,” prosecutors said.
On the day of the murder, August 13, 2020, White went to a job interview in Denver, according to the report. White texted DeLisa about how the interview went while she was riding the bus home, and DeLisa made a comment about her slim chances of landing the job, which made her very upset.
White then had a conversation with a stranger on the bus who claimed his name was “Scott,” according to the report.
“Scott asked if she was in a relationship with a man and whether he raped her,” prosecutors said. “White responded that he had, and Scott then said they must kill him.”
White and Scott got off the bus together and practiced shooting Scott’s gun before they went to White’s residence. Prosecutors said the stranger introduced himself to DeLisa as White’s brother from Texas.
DeLisa was found the next day during a welfare check shot twice in the head with his wallet stolen, according to the report. White and “Scott” spent a few days together before he left and the pair never saw each other again. White was later identified as a suspect in her boyfriend’s death and was arrested and charged.
Three years after DeLisa’s death, a woman told police she believed her boyfriend, Michael Stratton, may have been “Scott.” At the time, Stratton was in custody for killing a different man in Pueblo — an incident which happened after DeLisa’s murder, prosecutors said.
The woman’s description of Stratton’s confession matched what White had told law enforcement, according to prosecutors. However, Stratton was deemed incompetent to stand trial for the Pueblo case, and he has not been charged in DeLisa’s death, the report states.
“This was a tragic and senseless murder and Ashley White bears significant culpability for it,” District Attorney Brian Mason said in statement. “Her callous actions led to the victim’s death, and now she will pay a significant price.”
White is expected to be sentenced on April 4.
