Woman fatally stabbed man she met at bar, then set his home on fire, CO officials say
.png "Christopher Dickerson is shown in an undated photo.")
A woman accused of fatally stabbing a 35-year-old man and then torching his house was sentenced to life in prison without parole, prosecutors in Colorado said.
Stacy Rodriguez, 23, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2021 death of Christopher Dickerson, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office said in a March 14 news release.
The jury also found her guilty of first-degree arson, two counts of second-degree burglary, and tampering with a deceased human body, prosecutors said.
She was ordered to serve life without parole in Dickerson’s killing, and she also received prison time in connection with the other charges.
McClatchy News reached out to her attorney March 14 and was awaiting a response.
Rodriguez and another woman, Hosanna Varela, went to Dickerson’s home in October 2021 after meeting him at a bar in Greeley, prosecutors said. It was “intended to be a casual gathering,” but “Rodriguez stabbed Dickerson to death before setting his house on fire,” according to prosecutors.
Rodriguez said it was in self-defense, but prosecutors disputed that, the Greeley Tribune reported.
In the news release, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia called Rodriguez a “threat to society.”
“This entire process has been a joke to this defendant,” he said, per the release. “She jokes. She laughs. The jury got to see her true character which is nothing but diabolical and despicable.”
He said during sentencing that Dickerson’s family “gave us the strength to keep going” and that “today we got justice for Christopher,” per the release.
Dickerson was an outdoorsman who liked to hike, camp and fish, an online obituary said. He worked as a warehouse supervisor and died just before his 36th birthday.
He also enjoyed spending time with loved ones and his dog, Juna, according to the obituary.
In court, his father, Allen Dickerson, said “Chris did not deserve to die that day that he befriended those two young women,” according to prosecutors. He added that “Chris deserved so much more in his life.”
Varela, the co-defendant, is serving a 32-year sentence after pleading guilty to charges including first-degree arson, accessory to a crime and tampering with a deceased human body, prosecutors said.
Greeley is about a 65-mile drive northeast from Denver.
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