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Shawna Nelson’s Affair

According to the Greeley Tribune, Shawna Nelson was married and working as a police dispatcher for Weld County, Colorado, when she stepped out on her husband with Ignacio Garraus, a married Greeley, Colorado, police officer.

The affair went on for nearly 3 years, and in 2004, Shawna got pregnant, but they agreed to have an abortion. When she got pregnant a second time in 2025, they decided to keep it, Ignacio later revealed.

Ignacio ended the affair in December 2006. Nelson, unable to accept the breakup, became obsessed with Ignacio’s wife, Heather. She thought that if she could remove the competition, she could get Ignacio back.

Murder of Heather Garraus

Shawna started plotting the murder with her best friend, Michelle Moore. According to 9News, Moore gave her advice on ways she could throw investigators off. She also provided tips on how to avoid leaving DNA and evidence at the scene.

According to the Greeley Tribune, affidavits revealed that Moore told her to cover her hair and wear a disguise. She also told her to “muzzle the gunshots and pick up her shell casings.”

Shawna thought she had the perfect plan, and on January 23, 2007, while masked and dressed in all black, she ambushed Ignacio’s wife outside a Colorado State Employees Credit Union, where she worked at around 6 p.m.

Shawna ordered Heather to the ground at gunpoint, then shouted, “You ruined my life,” and then she shot Heather in the head, the Greeley Tribune reported. She later died at the hospital.

She returned to a running vehicle nearby and made her escape, but the plan wasn’t well thought out. Witnesses identified her getaway vehicle as a black Ford F-250 pickup truck with unique markings.

Greeley police put out a bulletin describing the vehicle, and Shawna’s husband, Ken, who worked as a Weld County Sheriff’s Deputy, heard it.  He and his partner stopped her.  Witnesses accused him of removing something from the vehicle, then leaving. However, his partner disputed those claims. His partner kept an eye on Shawna until Greeley Police showed up and arrested her, the Greeley Tribune reported.

Shawna tried to play it cool, accusing the officers of “making a scene” and saying she was going to get some beer, the Greeley Tribune reported.

Ken was later arrested for tampering with evidence, but the charges were later dropped.

Investigators eventually learned of Moore’s involvement in the crime, and on November 20th, 2007, they arrested her for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, Greeley Tribune reported.

Legal Proceedings

When Shawn’s three-week trial started in 2008, the prosecution presented 120 exhibits and testimony from 40 witnesses, who revealed that Shawna spoke of getting rid of Heather. Moore cooperated with the prosecution and took the stand against Shawna. Shawna’s husband also testified at the trial in exchange for immunity, Summit Daily reported.

According to Greeley Tribune, Ignacio took the stand and revealed that Heather had gotten a tattoo with his name on her ankle at one point. He said that “disturbed” him. He also revealed that Shawna never threatened to harm his family, but prosecutors had text messages where Shawna made threats to reveal their affair and love child to Heather.

He claimed that Heather caught on about the affair on December 16th, 2006, and confronted him about it. He said he confessed everything, including the fact that he and Shawna had a child together. He said Heather threatened to divorce him the next day, but ultimately, she agreed to stay with him if he would cut off contact with Heather.

Ignacio testified that he called Shawna on December 18th, 2006, and ended the relationship as Heather stood by and watched. Five weeks later, Heather was killed.

After five hours of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict on March 3rd, 2008. They found Shawna guilty of first-degree murder. According to the Greeley Tribune, the courtroom reacted with gasps and cries, while Shawna stood emotionless, barely blinking. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The following month, Moore was allowed to plead guilty to accessory to attempted first-degree murder rather than accessory to first-degree murder because she was connected to an attempt to kill Heather a day before the actual murder. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison, 9News reported.