An Aurora man was sentenced to 48 years in prison after he was found guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting his mother, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Ryan Scott Avery, 42, was arrested in June 2021 after his mother, 70-year-old Deborah Avery, was found dead in her home in the 1600 block of South Granby Street.
Ryan Avery, who also lived in the house, was accused of shooting his mother three times in the face and chest as she sat in a recliner in the family room. His sister had recently taken control of their mother’s finances and believed “Ryan did not approve of this action,” the DA’s office said in a news release.
Investigators found a gun and bullets in his car that matched those used in the shooting and were also used in an attempted assault and menacing shortly after Deborah Avery’s death, according to the district attorney’s office.
Ryan Avery was convicted of second-degree murder — heat of passion, first-degree attempted assault with a deadly weapon and felony menacing by an Arapahoe County jury in August.
“I hope this lengthy sentence brings some sense of closure and justice for Deborah’s friends and family,” Assistant District Attorney Tom Byrnes said in a statement.
Ryan Avery was represented by the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, which does not comment on criminal cases.
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