A twisted tale of revenge, jealousy, and cold-blooded murder has ended with a double life sentence for a 69-year-old man convicted of killing two people in a small Colorado mountain town.
Mark Burns will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of murdering Michael Arnold, 69, and Donna Gallegos, 65, inside a Paonia residence that doubled as a shop. The brutal crime scene revealed both victims had been shot multiple times. Burns was also convicted on multiple other charges, including aggravated robbery, burglary, menacing, and tampering with evidence.
Jurors deliberated for eight hours before delivering their verdict on June 12. Burns was officially sentenced on Monday to two consecutive life terms, plus additional time for the other offenses.
The murders happened on February 4, 2022, at a remote property about 220 miles southwest of Denver. Investigators later arrested Burns in Idaho, where he had relocated shortly after the killings.
Prosecutors revealed that Burns once rented a home on Arnold’s property, but the two men had a strained relationship. Witnesses said the tension escalated after Arnold evicted Burns in 2021. Adding fuel to the fire, both men had romantic ties to the same woman — and Burns allegedly funded a lawsuit against Arnold, claiming the woman had a common-law marriage with him.
Court documents revealed that before leaving Colorado, Burns allegedly warned Arnold, “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
Surveillance footage proved to be the smoking gun. Cameras inside Arnold’s property showed the masked killer executing both victims. Prosecutors said the suspect wore duct tape around their wrists to keep sleeves in place and may have donned a wig to obscure their identity. Despite Burns insisting it wasn’t him, prosecutors told jurors the evidence — and his sudden access to money after the murders — painted a chilling picture of premeditated revenge.
Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor called the conviction a “just verdict,” adding that he hoped it would bring some peace to the families of the victims.
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Author: thedailycrime1
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