AURORA, Colo. — A 21-year-old man will spend 60 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty in April to charges related to the death of his girlfriend last year.
On Friday, Arapahoe County Judge Elizabeth Ann Weishaupl sentenced Dakota Chinnock to 48 years on a second-degree murder charge, which was the maximum under Colorado law. He received 12 years for a kidnapping charge. The two sentences will be served consecutively for a total of 60 years.
“Mr. Chinnock received the maximum prison sentence allowed for second-degree murder, and quite frankly, he deserves to never walk the streets again,” said District Attorney John Kellner. “He came up with a phony story of a home invasion which was easily debunked by the physical evidence.”
On Sept. 5, 2021, Chinnock called police to report that he found his girlfriend unconscious and not breathing in their Aurora apartment.
When officers arrived, they found Amanda Farley, 20, lying on a bedroom floor with severe swelling to her face. The investigation also revealed multiple human bite marks on Farley’s body.
When questioned by police, Chinnock suggested her death might have resulted from a home invasion. He claimed he had been drinking earlier that night and when he woke up, the apartment was in disarray and Farley was in a pool of blood.
Investigators noted there was no smell of alcohol on Chinnock and there appeared to be no forced entry into the apartment unit. Hours prior to Chinnock calling police, witnesses living in the complex reported hearing yelling and a female crying from the apartment.
Surveillance video obtained by police showed Chinnock and Farley arguing outside their apartment. The video shows Chinnock grabbing an object resembling a propane tank and hitting Farley in the head with it.
The video then shows them both going into the apartment and out of the camera's view.
“The defendant brutally attacked this woman he supposedly loved for hours,” said Deputy District Attorney Lisa Gramer. “He ended the life of his high school sweetheart, whose only real mistake was that she loved him back.”
Chinnock pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping in April.
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