60 Years For Aurora Man Convicted Of Strangling His Wife

DENVER, CO – An Aurora man who pleaded guilty to strangling his wife and then crashing his car in Denver with her dead body in the backseat was sentenced to 60 years in prison Thursday in Denver District Court.

Jose Valleo-Cano, 27, was charged in November with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Araceli Miranda, 23, but pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree assault.

On Oct. 29, 2016, officers found Miranda unresponsive in the back seat of an SUV crashed behind an industrial building in the 4800 block of Kingston Street. A medical examiner's report concluded she had been strangled. Denver police located Vallejo-Cano hiding behind a dumpster around 100 yards from the wrecked car, with an injury to his legs from the auto accident, a police affidavit said.

Aurora police had been searching for Vallejo-Cano since the previous night, when they received an alert that the electric monitoring ankle shackle he wore had been tampered with. Miranda had been reported missing in the early morning by her mother, who said she feared for her daughter's safety.

Vallejo-Cano had been released from jail, having been arrested earlier in the month in Aurora and charged with assault for the attempted strangulation of his wife. He was free on a $30,000 bond and was under a no-contact order from the court to stay away from Miranda and her children, the arrest affidavit said.

Police found evidence that Vallejo-Cano and his estranged wife had checked into a Denver motel the night before, where he had cut off his ankle monitor.

Vallejo-Cano has been held in custody in the Denver County Jail since his arrest with no bond.

Image via Denver District Attorney's Office

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