Man who killed mother sentenced

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — An Aurora man who shot and killed his mother in 2021 was sentenced Friday to 48 years in prison.

Ryan Avery, 42, was found guilty in August of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and felony menacing, according to court records. 

According to an arrest affidavit, Aurora police were called to 1620 S. Granby St. on the morning of June 20, 2021, by the victim’s 46-year-old daughter. The daughter said she went into the home through the garage and found her mother, 70-year-old Deborah Avery, dead in a recliner in the living room, the affidavit says. 

Investigators got a search warrant for the house and found Deborah Avery with two gunshot wounds to her face and one gunshot wound to her chest, according to the affidavit. Three .380 caliber bullet casings were found, the affidavit says. 

In Ryan Avery’s upstairs bedroom, police investigators found an empty box for a .380 caliber handgun, the affidavit says. 

The daughter told police she had recently taken over Deborah’s finances and believed Ryan did not like the arrangement, the affidavit says. 

In an interview with police, Avery said that while he had a strained relationship with his mother, he did not shoot his mother and did not own or possess a gun, the affidavit says. 

After securing a search warrant for Avery’s Lexus sedan, officers found a .380 Ruger pistol behind the passenger seat and .380 caliber ammo inside an unlocked safe in the car, the affidavit says. 

The investigation also revealed Avery used the same gun to commit attempted assault and felony menacing against other victims that same weekend after the murder, according to a news release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

“The overwhelming physical evidence recovered from Mr. Avery’s bedroom and car along with the initial analysis of the crime scene led investigators straight to Deborah’s killer,” Assistant District Attorney Tom Byrnes said. “I hope this lengthy sentence brings some sense of closure and justice for Deborah’s friends and family.”

Avery was sentenced Friday to 48 years.