Jury finds man guilty in 2020 killing of girlfriend in Colorado Springs hotel
Dec. 16—Marvin Santiago, the man accused of fatally strangling his girlfriend in 2020, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, according to court records.
Santiago was accused of killing his 23-year-old girlfriend Elena Alinj in a south Colorado Springs hotel on Sept. 28, 2020. Six months after Alinj's death, Santiago turned himself in at the El Paso County jail and was charged with first-degree murder for her death.
Previous reporting from The Gazette detailed that Santiago had been accused of assaulting his mother, a fellow student and family members numerous times in the past decade, according to a March 4 arrest warrant.
Between 2009 and 2018, he was arrested eight times on suspicion of attacking his mother or her partner near Orlando, Fla., according to the warrant.
Months before Alinj's death, former neighbors called Colorado Springs police to report hearing the couple fight, but when police arrived, Alinj denied any physical violence between herself and her boyfriend, according to the warrant.
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The couple's former landlord told police he saw bruises on her neck and face. One of Alinj's co-workers said Santiago threatened to kill the child shared by Alijni and him if she did not support him financially, the warrant stated.
On Wednesday, following a trial that lasted over a week, Santiago was found guilty of first-degree murder, according to court records. The remaining 11 charges were all dismissed by the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, according to court records.
