Kelsie Schelling case details texts with Donthe Lucas upon disappearance
Feb 8, 2021
The homicide trial of Donthe Lucas, accused of first-degree murder in the 2013 disappearance of his pregnant girlfriend, Kelsie Schelling, resumed Monday with the testimony of Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Kevin Torres.
Torres, continuing his testimony from Friday, began the fourth day of the trial by detailing text exchanges between Lucas and Schelling on the night of Feb. 3 and the day of her disappearance, Feb. 4, breaking them down minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour as the conversation unfolded.
The texts indicate Lucas and Schelling were constantly arguing throughout the night of Feb. 3, both in text and in short phone conversations in which Schelling seemed to continually hang up on Lucas.
Lucas appears to have asked Schelling to come to Pueblo after she got off work the evening of Feb. 3, and he expressed disappointment she would not drive from Denver.
In the texts, Lucas implied Schelling had asked him to come to her OBGYN appointment the following day — the day of her disappearance — saying he wanted to go with her and noting it “seemed like” Schelling wanted him to go.
Schelling replied that she did want Lucas to accompany her to the doctor “until I realized that’s the last place you wanted to be.”
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At 1:28 a.m., Schelling told Lucas, “I won’t tell you anything about the baby. I won’t tell you about my appointment. We won’t speak of it again. Forget I’m pregnant, seriously.”
Just before 3 a.m., according to Torres’ testimony, Schelling texted Lucas, “You don’t have to be in a relationship with me. You don’t have to marry me. You don’t have to have a happy little family with me. You don’t have an obligation to me. You’re good. Don’t worry. Goodnight.”
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Schelling told Lucas at 11:21 a.m. that she had finished her appointment. He asked what the doctors told her and she replied that everything looked good and that her due date was Sept. 13.
Lucas, according to Torres’ recap of the text exchange, replied, “Cool,” then said he wished Schelling didn’t have to work that evening. He asked her to skip work and come to Pueblo to get him, and they continued to argue.
Schelling told Lucas, “I’m not going to come get you so we can fight all day.”
He responded: “I don’t want to fight at all I want to give you this.”
“Give me what?” Schelling asked.
“Just wait and see for yourself,” Lucas said in the texts.
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Lucas and Schelling seemed to reference to a trip Lucas was planning on taking that day, seemingly to Kansas, on which he asked Schelling to accompany him.
Lucas told her to “Just stop wasting time and come.”
Schelling told him she had responsibilities and couldn't just skip work.
Torres detailed a text from Lucas to Schelling just before noon that said, “Um, yeah, you can if you weren’t scared to get fired. I told you I’d give you everything you need when you get here so u don’t need that job.”
Schelling went to work that evening, and she and Lucas continued to argue over text.
Before 6 p.m., Torres said, Schelling texted Lucas, “Then step up and make a relationship with me work. Stop acting like you can’t do it. Either make things work with me or walk away.”
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Schelling texted Lucas at 8:50 p.m., saying, “I’m coming now. So be ready.”
At 9:19 p.m., Schelling texted Lucas to say that she was in Monument. At 9:56 p.m., she texted again, saying, “Almost there. Where do I go?”
Lucas, according to Torres, directed her to go to Walmart. She texted him at 10:20 p.m., saying she had arrived. Lucas replied that he’d be there shortly.
But at 11:10 p.m., Lucas had still not arrived at Walmart. At 11:14 p.m., he changed plans and told Schelling to meet him “where you usually do,” seemingly referring to an intersection near his grandmother’s home where Schelling had picked him up on previous occasions.
She texted him at 11:18 p.m., saying she had arrived at the meeting spot. She texted again at 11:24 p.m., saying, “Where are you? I’ve been here for over an hour just waiting.”
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At 11:29 a.m. Feb. 5, Torres said Lucas texted his mother, Sara Lucas, “Going to make sure she didn’t leave anything in the house. Then you can take her back home.”
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“OK. Love you,” Sara Lucas said. “You ready for a smoke and a pancake?”
“Hell yeah. Lol,” Torres said Donthe replied. “Let me get her out of here. Love you, too.”
Around the same time, texts were also being exchanged from Lucas' and Schelling’s phones.
“If it’s really what happened I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone,” Lucas said in a text to Schelling.
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While this text was being sent, Torres said Schelling’s phone was pinging off of a cell tower within the area of Canon National Bank, where Donthe Lucas was seen on camera withdrawing $400 from Schelling’s bank account while driving her 2011 Chevy Cruze.
I hope they make it clear that he was sending texts to her phone at the same time he was seen driving her car and withdrawing money from her bank account.
Torres said in the surveillance video showing the cash withdrawal, Schelling cannot be seen in the vehicle.
Shortly before noon, other texts were exchanged between Lucas and Schelling’s phones, which the prosecution alleges were not actually sent by Schelling.
Using cell phone data from Lucas' and Schelling’s phones, the prosecution believes both phones were in the same location as the texts were being exchanged.
One text from Schelling’s phone to Lucas’ phone at 11:56 a.m., said “After u get that money pick me up and stay out of my life!”
Another, sent at 11:59 a.m., said, “You can bring my car to Denver tonight. I have to go to the doctor. I don’t feel right. You can use the money and fill the car up…”
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At 1:34 p.m., Lucas sent another text saying, “Sorry again about the loss,” telling Schelling he will soon be going up to Denver to drop off her car.
Torres said Lucas never took the car to Denver. Her phone, according to Torres and Eicher, was also never recorded as having left Pueblo.