Man charged in dragging death in Colo.

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By DON MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 7 minutes ago

 

 

 

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. - Prosecutors filed murder and kidnapping charges Monday against a man accused in the gruesome dragging death of his 49-year-old girlfriend.

 

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Jose Luis Rubi-Nava, 36, faces charged of first-degree murder after deliberation and second-degree kidnapping. He also faces charges of forging and possessing a government-issued document. He was being held without bail and has not yet entered a plea.

 

The battered and disfigured body of Luz Marie Franco Fierros was found Sept. 18 in a normally quiet subdivision about 20 miles south of Denver.

 

Investigators say Franco Fierros had been dragged behind a vehicle for more than a mile, leaving a bloody trail. Preliminary autopsy results said she suffered fatal head injuries and was strangled as she was dragged.

 

She was identified by matching her fingerprints to Mexican voter registration records.

 

Rubi-Nava could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of the murder count, and between one and eight years on each of the lesser charges. Prosecutors have not said what kind of sentence they would seek.

 

Court documents remained sealed in the case, and it was not clear what documents Rubi-Nava was accused of forging. District attorney's spokeswoman Kathleen Walsh declined comment. Public defender Kathleen McGuire did not return a phone message seeking comment.

 

Immigration officials have said they believe Rubi-Nava is an illegal immigrant.

 

A judge scheduled another hearing for Thursday to hear motions in the case.