On November 8, 2019, a visit to a childhood friend's home in unincorporated Adams County, just outside of Denver, Colorado, turned fatal for Shane Michael Nelson, a 38-year-old man. What began as a verbal altercation with his longtime friend, Russell Montoya Jr., escalated tragically. Montoya brandished a handgun and fired four shots in rapid succession, striking Nelson in the chest and head.
Shane Michael Nelson died on the kitchen floor of his friend's home.
In the days that followed, Montoya constructed a grim plan to conceal his crime. He purchased materials from a local hardware store and built what would be described as a makeshift tomb in the unfinished basement of his home. Montoya encased his childhood friend's body in concrete under the stairs, attempting to mask the odor with various substances. The gruesome secret remained hidden for several days until Montoya's own daughter grew suspicious of her father's behavior and the foul smell emanating from the basement.
Montoya eventually confessed the murder to his daughter, who then bravely alerted the Adams County Sheriff's Office. On November 14, 2019, a SWAT team executed a search warrant at the Montoya residence, where they made the horrific discovery of Nelson's body entombed in concrete. Russell Montoya Jr. was arrested at the scene. He was later convicted of first-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body. For the murder of his friend, Montoya received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional 12 years for tampering with a human body.
