Colo. Man Who Murdered 'Supermom' Wife a Day Before Divorce Was Finalized Receives Sentence

"My mother did not deserve this," the pair's daughter reportedly wrote in a letter to her father

A Colorado man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his estranged wife one day before they were supposed to get divorced last March.

David Lechner was convicted last week of first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the March 30, 2023, death of Tracy Lechner. On Monday, David, 46, was sentenced to life in prison, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office announced.

The office said multiple neighbors heard the shooting happen, and one witness spotted David during the act. The witness told police he saw David standing over his wife in the family’s garage when he shot her three times, including once in the head.

The witness said after shooting his wife, David ran to a car and attempted to drive away. The witness then rammed his rental truck into the side of David’s car in an attempt to stop him from getting away. Police arrested David down the street from the family’s home, the district attorney’s office said.

David had reportedly used a stun gun to subdue his wife before shooting her at point-blank range, authorities said, according to CBS.

Local ABC 7 reported that David and Tracy, 42, had not lived together for a number of years and that the killing took place in the garage of the home where Tracy lived with the couple’s young daughter and son, who were 7 and 9 years old when their mother was murdered, according to the outlet.

At David’s trial, Tracy’s family remembered her as a “supermom,” according to ABC 7. The outlet reported that the victim impact statements read at the trial included notes from each of the Lechners’ children.

“I hate you. This is what you took from me," the couple’s son wrote to their dad. "I hope you die soon and have fun rotting in hell."

Their daughter added: "You brutally murdered a kind, sweet loving person. My mother did not deserve this. I have never associated myself with you.”

David’s defense attorneys attempted to argue that his shooting was in self-defense and pointed to a physical struggle that occurred before the shooting, which resulted in multiple stab wounds in the husband’s buttocks.

However, investigators told the jury the incident was not a result of a spur-of-the-moment fight, explaining how evidence showed David purchased a pair of gloves, duct tape, zip ties, a tarp, a getaway car, and a GPS tracking device in the days leading up to his wife’s murder, according to CBS News.

"This was not a case of self-defense," Deputy District Attorney Tory Reavis said in a statement. "This was a calculated murder plot to avoid a divorce and have sole custody of his children. The evidence shows he incapacitated Tracy with a stun gun and then shot her three times, including once in the head."

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David was found guilty of first-degree murder, illegal use of a stun gun, and attempted kidnapping.

“This heinous murder shocked the community and Mr. Lechner deserves to spend every last minute of his life behind bars,” District Attorney John Kellner said in another statement.

Despite the sentencing, Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Gallo lamented that “no sentence can replace the life he took that day.”

“Two children are now growing up without their mother while their father sits behind bars,” Gallo said.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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