Clemente Flores-Hernandez Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder

DENVER — Denver District Attorney John Walsh has announced that Clemente Flores-Hernandez pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder and first-degree assault and was sentenced to 60 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

On February 24, 2023, Flores-Hernandez shot and killed 44 year-old Karol Bedoya at her home in northeast Denver. Ms. Bedoya and Flores-Hernandez had been involved in an intimate relationship for approximately ten years. Ms. Bedoya was sitting on her couch watching television next to her two-year-old grandson when Flores-Hernandez shot her four times at close range.

After hearing the gunshots, Ms. Bedoya’s adult son ran up from the basement and was met by Flores-Hernandez coming towards him with the gun. The two men engaged in a physical struggle and Flores-Hernandez strangled Ms. Bedoya’s son until he collapsed. Flores-Hernandez then abducted the two-year-old boy, put him in his car and fled.  Officers with the Colorado State Patrol and Adams County Sheriff’s Department were ultimately able to apprehend Flores-Hernandez roughly 30 miles east of Denver after a high-speed chase on I-70.  The two-year-old-boy was found unharmed.

“Karol Bedoya’s murder is yet another terrible reminder of the tragic toll domestic violence takes on our community and our families,” said DA Walsh.  “We hope that today’s guilty plea and sentence provide some measure of comfort to Karol’s family and friends.  I want to thank the prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates in my office, as well as the detectives with the Denver Police Department, whose work brought about today’s successful resolution.  I also want to recognize my office’s court-certified Spanish interpreter, Maite Lara-Roca, who played an essential, instrumental role in the prosecution of the case.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Curtis and Senior Deputy District Attorney Victoria Kelley prosecuted the case for the Denver DA’s office.

About the Denver DA’s Office:

The mission of the Denver DA’s Office is to protect the community, to seek equal justice for all, and to improve the quality and fairness of criminal justice on behalf of the people of Colorado.   We achieve that mission through excellence in our work investigating and prosecuting crime, supporting victims and their families, working with the community to prevent crime, and providing fair alternatives to incarceration in appropriate cases.

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