Man guilty of murder in girlfriend’s death on Denver-bound Amtrak train 9 years ago

Jurors on Friday convicted a -year-old man of first-degree murder in the killing of his girlfriend who died in her seat on an overnight train to Denver nine years ago The Denver jury affirmed prosecutors theory that Angelo Mantych killed -year-old Marina Placensia on an Amtrak train before it rolled into Union Station early in the morning on Sept a trip bystanders noted she took in an attempt to leave him and escape their long-abusive relationship The jury detected that the murder was an act of domestic violence Mantych dropped his head when the verdict was read He will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Placensia had planned to rely on her family in Denver to separate from Mantych after she arrived Assistant District Attorney Lara Mullin explained jurors during closing arguments in Denver District Court on Friday morning He knows what is waiting at that train station is a collection of family members who are going to make sure he doesn t go home with Marina and the boys she mentioned Because things were at a current point and people knew it Jurors heard about Mantych s long history of domestic violence against Placensia during the two-week trial and that Placensia made a plan to move to Denver from Wisconsin to get away from her boyfriend the father of three of her children Observers testified that Placensia tried to keep the plan secret from Mantych and that he was not supposed to join them on the train trip Mantych discovered the plan at least two days ahead of the train s departure Mullin explained jurors and then joined his family on the trip Prosecutors alleged Mantych silently suffocated Placensia in her seat on the train during the night before it reached Denver measures away from their children and without anyone noticing Mullin recounted jurors that the train was not full there were empty seats and played a video showing a dark train to try to explain why no one witnessed the killing Mantych explained officers he tried to wake his girlfriend about minutes before they arrived in Denver and assumed she was sleeping deeply when she did not stir He announced he tried again minutes before arrival and then sought help when she still did not respond according to an affidavit Related Articles Woman who died on overnight train to Denver was suffocated in her seat expert testifies A woman died in her seat on an overnight train to Denver Nine years later her boyfriend is on trial for murder Record-high children killed in Colorado domestic violence incidents last year is a wake-up call Denver saw declines in homicides and shootings in but domestic violence surged Defense attorneys argued the woman died of natural causes potentially including liver and heart conditions complicated by withdrawal from alcohol It really is something that brings a lot of reasonable doubt to this circumstance residents defender Srinija Pernankil declared during closing arguments It is an area that was uninvestigated and that is very fundamental to consider The Denver Office of the Therapeutic Examiner could not determine Placensia s cause of death in and Mantych was not arrested until after investigators brought in an outside expert Bill Smock who reviewed the incident and concluded that Placensia was suffocated to death He pointed to injuries to her mouth that are caused by smothering They have had a single-minded belief about what happened and they identified a medical expert who would agree with that belief Pernankil announced Investigators also noted that Placensia s bra was pulled up over her breasts when she was identified unresponsive indicating a struggle In interviews with police after her death Mantych denied sitting next to his girlfriend on the train first telling investigators he sat beside her and the next day claiming he sat behind her If she died of natural causes Mullin petitioned jurors why is he denying that he is sitting next to her Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day