Arvada Man Gets Life For Setting Girlfriend On Fire At Campsite

GEORGETOWN, CO – An Arvada man who was found guilty of setting his girlfriend on fire in front of her children, causing her death, was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 21 years.

Chief Judge Mark Thompson sentenced John Vasquez, 34, to life without parole for first-degree murder plus a 20-year term for child abuse resulting in injuries and another 1-year term for criminal impersonation, the 5th Judicial District Attorney's Office said in a press release.

Vasquez was convicted of the death of Christina Archuleta-Blasier who later died of her injuries after he chased her down and doused her with gasoline and set her on fire at a remote campsite near the Barbour Forks area of the Arapahoe National Forest, south of Idaho Springs on June 17, 2016.

Vasquez had told authorities the death was an "accident" and was found guilty in October 2015 of criminal mischief, an act of domestic violence against Archuleta-Blasier. But the Clear Creek jury was swayed by a previous recording of the two arguing about Vasquez's dropping a television and also saying it was an "accident," the DA's office said.

Aruchuleta-Blasier, her two boys, and Vasquez traveled to the campground, late at night. At the campsite, the Vasquez was violating his court ordered terms by drinking, the DA's office said. When the two began to argue over his drinking, prosecutors said he splashed gasoline on her, then lit her on fire with a lighter, an act witnessed by one of her sons. While one young son ran to get help, another boy, age 6, suffered burns on his hands trying to rescue his mother.

Aruchuleta-Blasier, after being burned, was flown via helicopter to a University of Colorado Hospital Burn Unit with third and fourth degree burns over 60 percent of her body.

"She succumbed to her wounds thirty-three days later, dying July 20, 2016, without ever being able to communicate how she received her injuries," the DA's statement said. The two children remain in the care of their father, who was divorced from Christina, and their stepmother.

“Shocking is that over 15,000 people a year are victims of domestic violence, and each year a couple dozen will die at the hand of a so-called ‘loved one,” said Bruce Brown, 5th Judicial district attorney in a statement. “Christina however, isn’t just a statistic. She was a loving mother and woman who leaves three children behind, and a family that will always remember the joy she brought to this world.”

Judge Mark Thompson described Vasquez's acts as, “…senseless, sick, depraved and despicable.”

To get help in ending the cycle of domestic violence call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Or, go online to www.DomesticShelters.org .

Related: Arvada Man Found Guilty Of Setting Girlfriend On Fire At Campsite

Image via Clear Creek Co Sheriff's Office.