Kara Lounsbury

Case details

Kara Lounsbury was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the January 2009 shooting deaths of her father, Harold “Hap” Enander, and his wife, Velva Sue Enander. She was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences without parole on February 16, 2010.

Status and sentencing

On February 16, 2010, Adams County district judge John Byron sentenced Kara Lounsbury after the verdicts were read. The sentences were two life sentences without parole and were ordered to be served concurrently. The conviction was for two counts of first-degree murder.

The offence

Harold “Hap” Enander, 69, and Velva Sue Enander, 61, were found dead inside their home on East 144th Avenue south of Hudson. Their bodies were found after they failed to show up for a church service, and a pastor’s wife found them.

Prosecutors said the Enanders were in their bed when they were attacked. Lounsbury fatally shot her father in the back while he was sleeping. She then shot her stepmother three times, before bludgeoning her in the head, causing more than 20 lacerations to the skull, followed by a final shot that killed her.

Prosecutors said Lounsbury ransacked the house to stage a home invasion and then accused her brother, Jared Enander, of the murders.

Investigation

During the investigation, evidence was collected from the Enanders’ bedroom, including a latex glove. Analysis found DNA on the glove belonging to Velva Sue Enander and from another woman.

The coroner reported that the Enanders were killed with either a Glock 9 mm or a Sigma 9 mm, citing a distinctive rectangular impact mark on shell casings. According to an affidavit, Lounsbury owned a Glock and kept it in her closet.

Detectives searched Lounsbury’s Chevrolet Tahoe and found it had “a brush guard attached to the front portion of the car” and star shaped wheels matching the description of the SUV in surveillance video. Investigators also found that Jared Enander had a video surveillance system with a view of Harold and Velva Enander’s home.

Arrest and pre-trial matters

Lounsbury was arrested last February and was later advised of charges in Adams County court by judge Mark W. Warner. She answered “Yes, I understand” when he advised her of the severity of the charges and “No, Your Honor” when Warner asked if she had any questions.

The arrest affidavit detailed estrangement and alleged abuse at the hands of Harold Enander. It stated Lounsbury had a history of anger towards her father and alleged that he verbally and sexually abused her as a child. Lounsbury’s husband said she “went through phases of contact and estrangement” with her father and that “they were not a very close family,” according to the arrest affidavit. Court documents also referenced that alleged history.

Autopsies and a coroner’s report described the deaths as gunshot-related and blunt trauma, including gunshots, and described that Sue Enander had been shot several times and beaten on the right side of her head so severely that her skull had been broken, according to a report from the Adams County Coroner’s Office.

Trial

Jury deliberations and verdict

Jurors convicted Kara Lounsbury of two counts of first-degree murder. The jury deliberated for about seven hours. The jury returned a verdict on Tuesday after returning from the Presidents Day weekend, and found Lounsbury guilty of both counts. Another report said jurors broke without reaching a decision after about a two-week-long trial and would resume deliberations after President’s Day.

Prosecution theory

Prosecutors called the killing an “execution.” Prosecutors said Lounsbury was motivated by hatred of Velva Sue Enander and her wish to claim proceeds from a life insurance policy. Adams County DA Don Quick said: “This was an incredibly violent and callous crime. There is never a good motive for murder, but to kill your own parents for money is exceptionally heinous.”

Adams County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jim Colgan told jurors: “Why did she have to beat her?” and asked: “Because she didn't like her. She felt threatened by her. She was going to get some of her money.”

In closing statements, Colgan told jurors that Lounsbury and Jared Enander “both manipulated and used their father” but that the evidence only pointed to Lounsbury as the killer. Colgan said: “There's no evidence he did anything,” and stated that the defense’s theory pointed to Jared Enander because, “if you look at Jared, guess what, you don't look at what she did.” Colgan also said Sue Enander’s injuries illustrated Lounsbury’s hatred for her stepmother, stating: “She could have just shot her,” and: “Her head was crushed in 20 times.” Colgan asked: “Why did she have to beat her?” and answered: “Because she didn't like her. She felt threatened by her. She was going to get some of her money.” He also said: “She hated her,” during closing argument.

Defense theory

Lounsbury’s defense focused on an effort to pin the January 2009 killings at the Enander house near Hudson on Jared Enander. During testimony, Jared Enander was described as living next door to his parents’ home in rural Adams County near Hudson.

Defense attorney Chad Oxman told jurors that investigators and prosecutors were quick to blame Lounsbury and ignore evidence that Jared Enander was the killer. Oxman said Lounsbury’s trial was “written, produced and directed” by her brother. Oxman said: “She didn't do it,” and: “This is a setup.” Oxman also told the jury: “It defies science,” and argued that none of the blood that covered the crime scene was found inside Lounsbury’s vehicle. Oxman said: “The evidence that Jared put there speaks for itself” and: “She says he did it because he did it.” He also told jurors: “This glove was planted.” Oxman stressed that jurors did not need to “pick” between Lounsbury and Jared Enander and that the only issue was whether prosecutors proved Lounsbury committed murder. In closing argument, it was described as deflection, with Deputy District Attorney Jess Redman saying: “The earliest known defense mechanism of all siblings: deflection. I didn't do it. My brother did it.”

Surveillance and testimony

A key piece of evidence at trial was a home surveillance tape provided to investigators by Jared Enander. Prosecutors said it showed Lounsbury pulling into her brother’s driveway and then driving next door to their father’s house in the early morning hours when investigators believed the couple was killed. Lounsbury testified that she tried to visit her brother but denied going next door and killing the Enanders.

Lounsbury told detectives that on Jan. 14, 2009, she had been drinking to celebrate good news and went to visit her brother because she had trouble sleeping and wanted to “see what Jared was doing.” She said she drove her black Chevy Tahoe with four of her dogs and arrived at Jared’s house, knocked on the door for several minutes, but Jared did not answer. She said she pulled out of the driveway facing the wrong way and drove around the house to head home. Surveillance video appeared to confirm the visit, showing a SUV with a brush guard and star shaped wheels pull into Jared Enander’s driveway at about 3 a.m.

A sworn description in the affidavit stated that the surveillance video did not show who was driving the SUV, but that “the figure appeared to be a woman.” About nine minutes later, the SUV left Jared Enander’s driveway and then pulled into the driveway of Harold and Velva’s home. About an hour later, the SUV was seen driving down 144th Avenue with its lights off.

Jared Enander told detectives that just prior to Christmas 2008, he was talking to Ms. Lounsbury when she asked, why he had never killed their father in retaliation for troubled childhoods. Jared Enander testified about his parents’ will and that his sister wanted to get into the house to see the will and what she was getting in it. Jared Enander also told detectives that the surveillance footage appeared to show his sister.

Lounsbury denied making the comment about killing their father.

Evidence about the crime scene

Lounsbury appeared to acknowledge visiting Jared’s house in the early morning hours of Jan. 14 in the affidavit narrative that described she “wavered between saying that she was – then was not – at the scene.”

Both the prosecution and defense said the Enander house had been trashed to make it look like a robbery. Lounsbury testified she believed the glove was left there by her brother, and Oxman argued it was planted.

Outcome and aftermath

After the verdicts, Kara Lounsbury appeared to gasp as the verdict was read.

Juda Filippi, Sue Enander’s daughter and Lounsbury’s step-sister, spoke in court before sentencing, saying: “My mom was a caring and giving woman to everyone she met, including Kara Lounsbury. My mom tried to bring peace, compassion and understanding to Kara.”

The courtroom included friends of the Enanders and employees from Aqua Hot, the Fort Lupton company founded by Hap Enander. Doreen Martin, who attended every day of the trial, said Hap Enander had “a heart of gold” and quoted: “It was the greatest job I've ever had” and: “He just always thought of us. We were number one with him.”

Lounsbury’s defense declined comment after the verdict.

Other details

Harold “Hap” Enander was described as a well-respected small businessman and church leader, and as the founding owner of Aqua-Hot Heating Systems of Fort Lupton. The company employed about 75 people to make heaters for high-end recreational vehicles. Another description said Aqua-Hot Heating Systems retrofitted heating systems for higher-end recreation vehicles and employed about 65 people.

An arrest affidavit and related interviews described the Enander family as fractured and estranged. Both Enander siblings alluded to verbal abuse during childhood from their father.

Lounsbury lived on a small acreage near Denver International Airport, about 21 miles from the Enanders’ rural Adams County home. She was described as 31 at the time of a March 10, 2009 court appearance.

The arrest warrant described the initial call to a dispatcher at 9:38 a.m. Jan. 15. Friend Lynda Higgins told investigators she arrived at the address at 42729 E. 144th Ave. to check on the Enanders after she had not heard from Sue Enander since Jan. 13. Higgins said she entered the home and found Sue Enander, 61, face down on the floor of the main-level bedroom beside the bed, covered in blood and apparently dead. Deputies later found the body of Hap Enander, 69, face down on the floor on the opposite side of the bed. Two doors of the house were unlocked, and investigators found no unexplainable prints in the snow. The home office was in disarray with many items broken and strewn about.

A report described that the couple was married about three years. Harold Enander was said to have retrofitted a $1 million recreational vehicle for Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

An account described that after Harold Enander and Lounsbury’s biological mother divorced in 1985, they retained joint legal custody but split physical custody. Jared Enander lived with Harold Enander while Lounsbury lived with her mother until she was 11. Lounsbury then moved back in with Harold Enander until 1993 or 1994, when she attempted suicide due to a breakup with her boyfriend and issues with her father. She was seeing a therapist during that period, who told Pett that Lounsbury was alleging sexual abuse at the hands of her father. An examining physician found no evidence of sexual abuse.

In an interview with Pett’s husband, David Pett’s husband recounted giving Lounsbury a Glock 9 mm pistol in 2005, and that Lounsbury reported the gun stolen in a conversation on the day of the murders.

Interviews with Lounsbury’s husband, Stuart Lounsbury, described him working at Harold Enander’s Aqua Hot for roughly a decade and described Jared Enander working on a contract basis for Aqua Hot and frequently becoming angry with Harold Enander over business matters. Despite relationships being tempestuous and estranged, both Lounsbury and Jared Enander drew salaries from Aqua Hot, purportedly upwards of $3,000 a month each.

In the affidavit, Jared Enander told investigators less than a month before the couple was found dead, Kara Lounsbury asked Jared to let her know when Harold and Sue Enander were going to be out of town so she could enter their home and search for Harold Enander’s will. Jared Enander was described as saying that Kara Lounsbury expressed concern that “she thought she wasn’t getting anything.”

Harold Enander’s attorney told investigators that the majority of his wealth was designated for First Baptist Church in Hudson where he and Sue were members.

On the day Lounsbury appeared in court again, she was scheduled to be represented by a public defender.

Jurors were warned to expect graphic testimony and evidence related to the crime scene, and an opening statement by Jim Colgan described that Lounsbury needed tens of thousands of dollars for back surgery.