Valarie Garcia

Valarie Garcia was a 36-year-old Hispanic mother of five children, remembered by her family for her contagious laugh and the light and joy she brought wherever she went. Her family, who gathered to mourn her at a park in Fort Lupton where they had celebrated birthdays and graduations, described her as beautiful and beloved.

The events that led to her death began on the evening of June 8, 2024, at a Super 8 hotel on Melody Drive in Westminster. Witnesses saw Valarie’s boyfriend, Jesse Gladney, arguing with her before grabbing her and forcing her into a Chevy Equinox. A friend of Gladney's, whom he had called for a ride, was driving the vehicle. The driver later told police that Gladney continued to yell at Garcia in the car, threatening her by saying, “Shut up or I’ll shoot you.”

A short time later, near 120th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Thornton, Gladney pulled out a gun and shot Valarie in the chest. A second 911 call was made by a witness who reported that a woman had been shot in a car matching the Equinox’s description. After the shooting, Gladney grew frantic, getting in and out of the car at stoplights, screaming for help, and trying to keep Valarie awake as they drove to Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton.

At the hospital, Valarie Garcia succumbed to her gunshot wound and was pronounced dead. Gladney’s behavior was described as erratic; he yelled at hospital staff not to let her die, punched the windshield of a car, and ultimately had to be sedated by staff to treat an injury to his hand. Police arrested him at the hospital.

Investigators learned that Gladney had an extensive criminal history spanning nearly two decades, with convictions for domestic violence, stalking, and witness tampering. Valarie’s family had long disapproved of the relationship and had forbidden Gladney from their home. Just a week before she was killed, Valarie had helped bail him out of jail following an arrest for felony menacing and weapons possession.

Jesse Gladney was charged with first-degree murder. Following a week-long trial in Adams County District Court, a jury convicted him of the charge on July 24, 2026. An Adams County judge then sentenced Gladney to the mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole, concluding the case in July 2026.