Judge sentences man to prison for assisting friend in 2017 suicide

Published on May 09, 2025

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A man who investigators say assisted his friend in suicide has been sentenced to prison.

Mark Switzer, 73, pleaded guilty in February to manslaughter – aiding suicide in the death of 49-year-old Nathan Combs.  

On Friday morning, Weld County District Court Judge Audrey Galloway sentenced Switzer to four years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. As part of a plea agreement, the original first-degree murder charge was dismissed.

Switzer was arrested in March of 2023 following a lengthy investigation into Combs’ 2017 death.

On May 18, 2017, Combs was found dead near a semi-truck west of Hereford, Colorado.

Originally, investigators believed he had died in an accident involving the truck. However, further investigation revealed that Combs had been shot.

The investigation also revealed that in the months leading up to his death, Combs increased his life insurance policy and then arranged for Switzer, who was his friend at the time, carry out his death.

“This was not a momentary lapse in judgement or a mistake,” Deputy District Attorney Katherine Fitzgerald said during Friday’s sentencing hearing. “This was a calculated plan and a deliberate action. Regardless of whether the victim asked him to assist in his death, this defendant still killed Nathan Combs and this type of behavior won’t be tolerated in our community.”

In addition to Deputy District Attorney Katherine Fitzgerald, Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea also prosecuted this case.