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Jury finds Christopher Lee Gebers guilty in CSP cadet's death

Posted at 1:04 PM, Sep 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-28 21:29:28-04

BOULDER, Colo. — Jurors handed down a guilty verdict Wednesday against a man charged with running over and killing a Colorado State Patrol (CSP) cadet during a high-speed chase.

Christopher Lee Gebers, 28, was convicted in a Boulder County courtroom of first-degree murder with extreme indifference for the death of 21-year-old trooper cadet Taylor Thyfault.

Gebers was arrested following the May 2015 chase that also injured CSP Sgt. Clinton Rushing, 37, as he and Thyfault deployed stop sticks on Highway 66 northwest of Longmont.

The two had been working an earlier two-vehicle crash as the chase approached their location. Thyfault died when he was struck by Gebers' speeding car. Rushing was hospitalized with critical injuries.

Thyfault pushed a tow driver out of the way before his was hit, according to witnesses. He was a veteran U.S. Army soldier and a 2012 graduate of Windsor High School.

Gebers argued that his accelerator got stuck. But state patrol radio traffic reveals the trooper chasing Gebers reported they were traveling at varying speeds – from 100 mph, to 102 mph and down to 50 mph.

Thyfault's mom, Carole Adler, was emotional after the verdict was read. She said her son's death was a result of evil.

"Taylor, your death serves as a reminder of evil's existence. But the way you lived your life, also serves as a reminder of evil's extinction," Adler said.

Gebers was also convicted on three counts of attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference. He will be sentenced on a later date.

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