In a tragic turn of events on April 3, 2000, 15-year-old Krisunda Jean Temple and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Roman Martin, were discovered shot to death in their Aurora, Colorado home. The young female victim and her companion had each been shot eight times, with Temple sustaining two gunshot wounds to her face. The grim discovery launched a homicide investigation that would soon focus on a member of their own family.
Authorities arrested Joshua Wayne Andrews, Martin's 18-year-old brother, and charged him with two counts of murder. Prosecutors built a case suggesting that escalating disputes between the brothers had culminated in the violent deaths of both Martin and Temple. One of the incidents highlighted during the trial was an occasion where Martin had reportedly shot a phone jack while Andrews was on a call. The prosecution argued that this simmering anger led to the double homicide.
During the trial, Andrews' defense team presented an alternative theory, contending that the murders were the result of gang-related violence and that rival gang members were the actual perpetrators. In July 2001, despite the prosecution's efforts, Joshua Wayne Andrews was acquitted of the murders. The forewoman of the jury later stated that while they believed Andrews was guilty, the prosecution had not been able to meet the burden of proof necessary for a conviction. Following his acquittal, the deaths of Krisunda Jean Temple and Roman Martin officially remained unsolved. Joshua Wayne Andrews later relocated to Virginia, where in 2002 he was arrested and subsequently convicted for a series of other violent crimes, including multiple murders. In 2007, he was sentenced to death in Virginia for these later crimes.
