Aurora woman accused of shooting 2 ordered held for trial
February 20th, 2010 | Published in The Denver Post
BRIGHTON, Colo. — An Adams County District Court judge ruled Friday that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to try Cristina Wanda Sears in the shooting death of her stepmother and the serious wounding of her stepsister just days before Christmas.
In an emotional hearing that lasted more than three hours, prosecutors called several witnesses, including Sears’ son, Kenneth R. Richey, who testified in poignant detail about how the circumstances — the loss of Sears’ job, the recent death of her father, severe depression, and suicidal thoughts combined with a years-long dispute about her father’s estate — drove her to the deadly confrontation on Dec. 22.
Richey forced back tears as he recounted how he, his then-fiance Shanyndoah Bowen, and Joy Pigon, then 49, the stepsister, were posing for pre-wedding photos and preparing gifts around 3:30 p.m. in their Aurora home when they heard a loud pop from the kitchen next door.