Colorado LGBTQ+ nightclub shooter sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of murder

The man who carried out a mass shooting which killed five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub last year has been sentenced to life in prison, after pleading guilty to the attack.

Monday’s plea by Anderson Lee Aldrich comes just seven months after the shooting and spares victim’s families and survivors a long and potentially painful trial.

Aldrich pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder. Aldrich also pleaded no contest to two counts of bias-motivated crimes, one a felony and the other a misdemeanour.

The defendant was sentenced to life in prison on the murder charges under the plea agreement.

"I intentionally and after deliberation caused the death of each victim," Aldrich told Judge Michael McHenry.

People in the courtroom wiped away tears as the judge explained the charges and read out the names of the victims.

The plea entered during a court hearing follows a series of jailhouse phone calls from Aldrich to The Associated Press expressing remorse and the intention to face the consequences for the shooting.

Aldrich originally was charged with more than 300 state counts, including murder and hate crimes.

The US Justice Department is considering pursuing federal hate crime charges, according to a senior law enforcement official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case.

Aldrich a 'monster'

Victims called Aldrich a monster who hunted down LGBTQ+ patrons in the calculated attack.

Surviving victims and family members of those slain spoke during an emotional sentencing hearing Monday after Aldrich pleaded guilty to the multiple murder charges.

"This thing sitting in this court room is not a human, it is a monster," said Jessica Fierro, who's daughter's boyfriend was killed.

"The devil awaits with open arms."

The father of a Club Q bartender said Daniel Aston had been in the prime of his life when he was shot and killed.

"He was huge light in this world that was snuffed out by a heinous, evil and cowardly act,"Jeff Aston said.

Daniel Aston’s mother, Sabrina, was among those who said they would not forgive the crimes.

History of violence

The attack at Club Q came over a year after Aldrich had been arrested for threatening their grandparents and vowing to become "the next mass killer."

Family members of the victims and survivors are expected to speak at Monday's hearing about how their lives were forever altered by the terror that erupted just before midnight on November 19 when the suspect walked into Club Q and indiscriminately fired an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle.

Aldrich had hinted at plans to carry out violent attacks at least a year before the Club Q assault.

In June 2021, Aldrich's grandparents told authorities that they were warned not to stand in the way of a plan to stockpile guns, ammo, body armour and a homemade bomb.

Aldrich was then arrested after a standoff with SWAT officers that was livestreamed on Facebook before Aldrich eventually surrendered.

However, the charges against Aldrich were thrown out in July 2022 after Aldrich’s mother and grandparents, the victims in the case, refused to cooperate with prosecutors, evading efforts to serve them with subpoenas to testify, according to court documents unsealed after the shooting.

Other relatives told a judge they feared Aldrich would hurt their grandparents if released, painting a picture of an isolated, violent person who did not have a job and was given $US30,000 that was spent largely on the purchase of 3D printers to make guns, the records showed.

Aldrich was released from jail then and authorities kept two guns — a ghost gun pistol and an MM15 rifle — seized in the arrest.

However, there was nothing to stop Aldrich from legally purchasing more firearms, raising questions immediately after the shooting about whether authorities should have sought a red flag order to prevent such purchases.

Investigators later revealed that the two guns Aldrich had during the Club Q attack — the rifle and a handgun — appeared to be ghost guns, or firearms without serial numbers that are homemade and do not require an owner to pass a background check.

By AP

Original article link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-27/colorado-springs-nightclub-shooter-pleads-guilty-to-murder/102527042