A Colorado woman has been sentenced to prison for the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy in Denver. The incident, which prosecutors have described as a “senseless tragedy,” occurred within minutes of the woman’s arrival at an apartment in the city.
Ashlye Handy, who was 32 at the time of the shooting in 2021 and is now 36, was sentenced on Thursday. Denver District Attorney John Walsh expressed his hope that the sentence would bring some comfort and a sense of justice to those who knew and loved the victim, Abreham Yohhanes.
Handy was convicted of second-degree murder in January for Yohhanes’ death and was given a 25-year prison sentence. According to her arrest affidavit, which was obtained by local media, Handy was reportedly in a relationship with the teenager. The two were together at an apartment on Yosemite Street in Denver when the murder took place on September 15, 2021.
Authorities believe Yohhanes was killed around 11:08 p.m. The gunshot detection system ShotSpotter, which uses acoustic sensors to pinpoint local gunfire, reported shots in the vicinity of the apartment building at that time. Surveillance footage showed Handy and Yohhanes arriving at the apartment complex around 10:52 p.m., with Handy seen leaving alone approximately 20 minutes later.
Yohhanes was discovered by a friend around 4 a.m., suffering from a head wound. The friend had gone to check on Yohhanes after seeing a concerning text message screenshot sent by Handy’s brother in a Facebook thread.
Handy will serve her 25-year sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections. In the wake of Yohhanes’ death, a GoFundMe page was set up for his family, who are described as being “deeply heartbroken” and “understandably in shock.” The page pays tribute to Yohhanes, describing him as a “bright spark in this world” who will be deeply missed.