John Thoren III Murders Rachel Holmes

John Thoren III is a killer who was convicted in a Colorado court for the murder of Rachel Holmes

According to court documents John Thoren III is a semi truck driver and was sleeping in the back of his rig when Rachel Holmes started to throw rocks at his truck. Thoren would tell her to stop and showed her his gun. When Rachel Holmes failed to stop throwing rocks she would be fatally shot by Thoren. Why Rachel Holmes was throwing rocks was not made clear.

John Thoren III would call 911 and reported the shooting however he failed to provide any assistance to Rachel Holmes

John Thoren III would be arrested and convicted of murder. He will be sentenced at a later date

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John Thoren III Case

Following a 4-day jury trial in Arapahoe County, John David Thoren III, 44, was convicted of second-degree murder on Friday, April 12.

In the overnight hours of October 28, 2022, Thoren was sleeping in his semi-truck at a Boot Barn parking lot on S. Parker Road. Around 2:30 a.m., he said he awoke to an unknown woman throwing rocks at the driver side of his truck

According to Thoren, he told the woman to stop and then showed a gun. He told police that he cracked open the door and stated that if she didn’t stop throwing rocks, she would be shot.

The woman, identified as Rachel Holmes, 46, was shot with a 9mm gun and was pronounced deceased on-scene. Thoren called 9-1-1 to report the shooting, but he did not render aid. When questioned by investigators, he said he was scared for his safety and admitted to shooting the victim. Meanwhile, officers found minimal evidence of damage to the defendant’s semi-truck.

“Instead of driving to a safe location or calling 9-1-1 to report someone throwing rocks at his truck, the defendant decided to take matters into his own hands by confronting the woman with a gun and pulling the trigger,” Senior Deputy DA Michael Mauro said. “Based on the facts of this case, deadly use of force was not justified.”

Thoren was convicted of the following offenses:

Second-Degree Murder (Class 2 Felony)

Violent Crime/Use of a Weapon (Sentence Enhancer)

“While citizens have the right to bear arms and protect themselves from imminent danger, the evidence doesn’t support this defendant’s claims that his life was in danger,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “Jurors recognized this was not a case of self-defense.”

Thoren will be back in court for sentencing on July 22, 2024.

https://coda18.gov/2024/04/jury-convicts-truck-driver-who-shot-and-killed-woman-over-rock-throwing

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