Man convicted of brutally murdering Greeley woman with plunger handle
Published on August 20, 2021
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A Greeley man was sentenced to the rest of his life in prison this week for murdering a woman in 2018.
Weld District Court Judge Julie Hoskins handed down a mandatory life sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections Thursday morning to 67-year-old Jesus Romero.
After a week-long trial, a jury convicted Romero Wednesday of one count of first degree felony homicide, one count of criminally negligent homicide, and one count of sexual assault after killing 58-year-old Edna Woodrum in his Greeley apartment.
“Her big heart and trust for people is what killed her,” Jessica Bridgman, the victim’s daughter, told the court Thursday during the sentencing hearing. “She believed everyone was good, gave everyone a chance, was kind to everyone no matter their race, sex, or what they looked like. All she saw was a person. And, this trust and letting her guard down around this monster, cost her her life.”
On April 25, 2018, Greeley police officers were called to the Birchwood Apartments, a senior living facility, after the defendant called 911. He told dispatchers that Woodrum, who was his neighbor, was unresponsive in a pool of blood in his apartment.
When officers arrived, they found Woodrum naked, bloody and dead on the ground. There was also evidence at the scene that suggested there had been a struggle. One neighbor reported hearing an argument and three loud thumps against the wall earlier in the evening.
The defendant told police that Woodrum was in his apartment because she agreed to have sex with him.
However, investigators believe the victim bled to death and was brutally murdered, after a 17.5 inch wooden handle from a bathroom plunger was found sticking out of her anus.
Evidence in the case showed that Romero and Woodrum were not in a relationship and had not socialized in the past.
“It’s disgusting and repulsive,” Bridgman said. “He is a monster and shows in human form that evil does exist on this earth. The world needs to know evil can even be our next door neighbor and we must always be aware, at all times, no matter what.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea prosecuted this case.
“This has been a very long and emotional road for Ms. Woodrum’s family,” Chief DDA Perea said. “After three years of an uphill battle, we were able to finally get justice for the victim and her family. Though no sentence or outcome in this horrific case will ever bring Ms. Woodrum back, I’m grateful we’re able to finally put this case to rest, and that the family will be able to get some sort of closure in this nightmare they’ve been living the past few years.”