Man Sentenced For Wheat Ridge Woman's Murder
Fatal Stabbing Unsolved For Five Years
POSTED: 12:28 p.m. MST November 15, 2002
GOLDEN, Colo. -- A 35-year-old man who taunted police over the telephone about an unsolved murder was found guilty Thursday evening in the killing.
A jury Thursday convicted Michael Muniz, 35, of second-degree
murder and two violent crime counts in the death of Kay Bodway, 46 (pictured, left), of Wheat Ridge. The first trial ended in a hung jury in August.
Bodway was found stabbed to death in the garage of her townhome on July 2, 1996. She had moved to Wheat Ridge from Denver a month earlier after her children insisted it would be a safer neighborhood. Her new home also was closer to her 4-year-old grandson.
The murder case unsolved for five years until a late night phone call to police by a man who said he had information about an unsolved murder. The caller went on to describe how he had followed Bodway home from a nearby mall and stabbed her to death. The call ended with a warning to police that said, "I'm back."
Police traced the call to a nearby motel and arrested Muniz. His lawyer said Muniz made the call, but it was a prank.
Muniz faces up to 48 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 19.
A jury Thursday convicted Michael Muniz, 35, of second-degree
murder and two violent crime counts in the death of Kay Bodway, 46 (pictured, left), of Wheat Ridge. The first trial ended in a hung jury in August.
Bodway was found stabbed to death in the garage of her townhome on July 2, 1996. She had moved to Wheat Ridge from Denver a month earlier after her children insisted it would be a safer neighborhood. Her new home also was closer to her 4-year-old grandson.
The murder case unsolved for five years until a late night phone call to police by a man who said he had information about an unsolved murder. The caller went on to describe how he had followed Bodway home from a nearby mall and stabbed her to death. The call ended with a warning to police that said, "I'm back."
Police traced the call to a nearby motel and arrested Muniz. His lawyer said Muniz made the call, but it was a prank.
Muniz faces up to 48 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 19.
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
