A 37-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his girlfriend, a Denver Public Schools teacher, according to the district attorney’s office.
After a five-day trial in Denver District Court, a jury found Donte Ellis guilty Monday of first-degree murder in the 2023 killing of DPS teacher Shayna Johnson, according to a news release from the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Ellis was also found guilty of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, but was acquitted on charges of felony menacing and possessing a weapon as a previous offender, court records show.
Judge Eric Johnson sentenced Ellis to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the release stated.
Ellis shot and killed 43-year-old Shayna Johnson on Aug. 2, 2023, in the 3100 block of West Ohio Avenue. Denver officers found the Aurora woman’s body in the driver’s seat of a crashed SUV, police said.
Witnesses told police that they heard gunshots before seeing the car crash into other vehicles along the block, according to court documents. Ellis was standing in the street with a gun in his hand when officers arrived.
The woman worked with special-needs students and those who needed behavioral intervention services at Denver Public Schools for more than 20 years, her family said.
“Shayna Johnson was a beloved mother and friend, and a dedicated special education coordinator who was passionately committed to improving the lives of her students,” Denver District Attorney John Walsh said in the news release. “Her murder was a senseless act of violence.”
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