Commerce City Man Gets 48 Years For Wife's Beating Death

BRIGHTON, CO – A Commerce City man who beat his wife to death and left bruises a judge called "unfathomable" was sentenced to prison Thursday.

Derek Michael Johnston, 38, was sentenced to 48 years in prison, the maximum allowable sentence for second-degree murder, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's office.

Commerce City police found Melissa Ehrmann, 38, badly beaten and unresponsive in the couple’s home in the 14000 block of East 119th Way on Sept. 6, 2017. The couple’s 19-month-old son also was in the home, the DA's office said. Ehrmann was taken to University Hospital. She was unresponsive with no brain activity for four weeks, until she was removed from life support on Oct. 6.

Adams County District Judge Don Quick imposed the48 year sentence, saying that "in his 31 years in the criminal justice system, he had never seen bruising like he saw on Ehrmann’s body," the DA's office said. "He said the brutality of the beating and the number of blows required to inflict that amount of trauma were 'unfathomable.'"

Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Prince repeated Johnston's claim during the trial that he had "lost the love of his life." she pointed out Johnston had brutally taken that life, the DA's office said in a statement. “Melissa’s mother, her family members and her many friends are the ones who lost a loved one. He took that life,” Prince said.

There was a history of domestic violence in the home. Police were called four times by coworkers in July and August requesting welfare checks on Ehrmann after they saw signs of abuse.

According to the DA, Johnston called police on Sept. 6 saying that his wife had fallen backwards down the stairs the night before. He claimed he had helped her into bed and had woken up at 6:30 a.m. to find her unconscious. He waited to call 911 for four hours. Police found her in bed, with ice packs around her body, beaten from head to toe, the DAs office said.

Related: Commerce City Man Charged With Murder Of Wife

Image via 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office

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