Peo v. Marler

── Peo v. Marler ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: May 14, 2026 Category: General 23CA1128 Peo v Marler 05-14-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals No. 23CA1128 Boulder County District Court No. 22CR455 Honorable Nancy W. Salomone, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Collin Sonny Kalel Marler, Defendant-Appellant. JUDGMENT AFFIRMED Division I Opinion by JUDGE J. JONES Lum and Meirink, JJ., concur NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced May 14, 2026 Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Brittany Limes Zehner, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Assistant Solicitor General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee Megan A. Ring, Colorado State Public Defender, River B. Sedaka, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant ¶1 Defendant, Collin Sonny Kalel Marler, appeals the district court’s judgment of conviction entered on jury verdicts finding him guilty of first degree murder (after deliberation) and menacing. He also appeals his sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP). We affirm. I. Background ¶2 After moving out of his father’s house, twenty-year-old Marler moved into a condo with his cousin (T.S.), his aunt (T.S.’s mother), and his grandmother. Marler brought his computer and kept it in T.S.’s room, where they often played computer games together. ¶3 Marler had been living at the condo only a week when he and T.S. got into a heated argument about T.S.’s room being messy. The argument ended that night when Marler moved his computer out of T.S.’s room and slept in the basement. ¶4 The next day, Marler heard his grandmother, his aunt, and T.S. discussing the previous night’s argument. He accused them of talking about him behind his back, and he and T.S. started to argue. Marler’s grandmother and aunt stepped in to stop the argument. Marler’s grandmother, his aunt, and T.S. decided to go grocery shopping to put some distance between T.S. and Marler. 1  When they returned, Marler was in the first-floor bathroom, with the door shut. Marler’s aunt and T.S. went to the basement, leaving Marler’s grandmother in the living room. Marler stayed in the bathroom for at least thirty minutes. ¶5 Marler then came out of the bathroom holding a rifle. He went into the living room and removed the magazine from the rifle. His grandmother took the magazine from him and put it under her arm. Marler put the rifle on the couch and covered it with a blanket. Marler asked his grandmother, “[D]o you know why I’ve been in the bathroom?” His grandmother said she didn’t, and Marler responded, “I’ve been trying to talk myself out of killing [T.S.].” Marler’s grandmother told Marler that he wasn’t going to kill T.S., and he replied, “Yes, I am. I am gonna kill him.” ¶6 Marler and his grandmother talked for a few minutes about his intent to kill T.S. Several times, Marler told his grandmother he was going to kill T.S. Marler also kept trying to grab the magazine from his grandmother, and she eventually let him take it. ¶7 Marler’s grandmother then told Marler, “If you and [T.S.] can’t get this straightened out and come to an agreement, . . . you’re going to have to go back to your dad’s.” Marler picked up the rifle 2  from the couch and said, “I’m gonna kill him.” Marler’s grandmother said, “Then I’m gonna call the cops,” and Marler said, “You should call the cops. Go ahead.” He then went into the basement and immediately shot T.S. numerous times, including once in the back after T.S. fell. Marler came back up from the basement, threw down the rifle, and ran out the front door. T.S. was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. ¶8 Shortly after M