Edwin Junior Morales, 43, a Black male, was fatally shot inside an apartment near 1940 South Chelton Road in southeast Colorado Springs on November 13, 2019. According to relatives who spoke with local reporters, an argument began after Morales confronted his sons about disrespect toward their mother; during the confrontation he was shot twice. First responders found him gravely wounded, and the El Paso County Coroner later identified him as the victim.
Detectives quickly focused on one of Morales’s adult sons, 21-year-old Edwin Jay “EJ” Morales. He was contacted during the initial investigation and arrested on a charge of first-degree murder. Police and subsequent news updates linked the shooting to the apartment scene on South Chelton Road, noting the arrest within days of the killing.
The case moved through the courts over the following months. In 2020, Edwin Jay Morales pleaded guilty to manslaughter after initially facing a first-degree murder charge; he told the court he had acted in self-defense. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison for the November 13, 2019, shooting death of his father. Local outlets and the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office confirmed the plea and sentence.
