Donna Yaklich

Case record: Donna Yaklich

Background

Donna Yaklich was married to Dennis Yaklich, a Pueblo Colorado narcotics detective. She was raising a son and four stepchildren on the family’s farm. She was 31 at the time of her husband’s death.

Donna Yaklich later described being in an abusive relationship with Dennis Yaklich. She described incidents including physical abuse and repeated sexual assaults. She said Dennis Yaklich threatened to kill her and threatened her family, beginning with her father, if she left. Donna said she believed she would not be protected because Dennis was a police officer and he had access to federal law enforcement agents.

Donna Yaklich stated that when she moved in with Dennis after Barbara Yaklich’s death, she was 22 and Dennis was 30. She moved in with Dennis a few months later to help him with his 3-year-old daughter and his three stepchildren, ages 9, 11, and 12. She said she planned to stay that summer, get Dennis’ kids back in the home because they were living at his mother’s house, and then return to Tulsa.

Donna said that Barbara Yaklich passed away unexpectedly on February 14, 1977. She said Dennis became abusive about a month after she moved in and she left a few times but returned. She said Dennis’ threats kept her there, and she described suicidal thoughts followed by homicidal thoughts. She said “Suicide or homicide is definitely NOT the answer.”

Donna also described that despite Dennis’ violence being known by fellow officers, “No one who worked with him would go against him.” She said she became “very depressed and mad at myself” because she had not trusted her instincts about leaving. She said she had enrolled in educational programs, had therapy, and taken care of herself while in prison.

Donna Yaklich described her address as: Donna Yaklich #58751 Colorado Womens Correctional Facility PO Box 500 Canon City, CO 81215-0500.

The offence

On a December evening in 1985, shots rang out, killing Dennis Yaklich.

Donna Yaklich’s husband was killed in the driveway of their home in 1985 as he stepped out of his truck. Yaklich was inside the house asleep. Both sources described that Charles and Eddie Greenwell shot and killed Yaklich’s husband. The Greenwells were described as teenage gunmen.

After Dennis Yaklich’s death, Donna Yaklich received payment under his three life insurance policies. She admitted that she paid the Greenwells $4,200 in several installments for murdering her husband. She was brought to trial on a charge of first degree murder and conspiracy to murder under a theory that she arranged her husband’s death to obtain insurance money.

The appellate decision described the defence: Donna Yaklich suffered from the “battered woman syndrome,” and her actions were presented as justifiable acts of self-defense committed under duress resulting from years of physical and psychological battering by her husband. The defence stated that Donna lived in a constant state of fear and believed she was in imminent danger of being killed or receiving great bodily injury. The defence also contended that Donna believed and had reasonable grounds to believe there was a real or apparent necessity to act to avoid imminent danger of death or great bodily injury.

The defence presented expert and other testimony in support of the battered woman theory. The People’s expert witness gave an opinion that Donna Yaklich did not fit the profile of a battered woman.

Donna Yaklich maintained she had been abused by her husband, who was described as a weightlifter and who took steroids. She said she was afraid he would kill her, and she said she believed he would kill her.

Donna Yaklich’s attorneys argued she was a battered woman and that the murder was her last desperate attempt to end the abuse. They claimed that she hired hit men in self-defense.

Investigation

Authorities struggled to find clues to an execution-style shooting and suspected it was linked to Dennis Yaklich’s work as a narcotics detective. After months of dead ends, a tip led to two teenage gunmen and eventually back to Donna Yaklich.

A state task force reopened the investigation into the 1977 death of Dennis Yaklich’s first wife, Barbara Yaklich. The original investigation concluded that Barbara Yaklich died of a diet drug overdose. The cold case investigation was reopened after discrepancies were found in Barbara Yaklich’s autopsy report.

The cold case team announced that homicide could not be ruled out in the 1977 death of Barbara Yaklich partly because an investigation at the time was incomplete. A team included detectives from the Denver police department and Pueblo sheriff’s office.

Steve Johnson, head of the team, said: “This case needed some good, basic and old-fashioned police work,” and added, “In my opinion, I have seen better documented traffic accidents.”

Cold case team members found no evidence of a cover up and no conclusive evidence to rule Dennis Yaklich’s death a homicide. The case was complete but remained open. Barbara Yaklich’s death was listed as suspicious with cause of death as blunt force trauma.

In the cold case investigation, Denver-area pathologist Michael Dobersen found the coroner’s conclusions were “very unusual” and “the entire scenario is simply not credible,” in a 2005 letter to Johnson. Dobersen wrote that more likely, Barbara Yaklich’s internal damage was caused by a blow to the abdomen. A second forensic pathologist agreed.

The original autopsy said Yaklich fainted from taking diet pills and suffered bleeding in the abdomen when Dennis, described as a bodybuilder, tried to “energetically” resuscitate her.

The lead detective overseeing Dennis’ death investigation acquiesced there was no examination of a possible crime scene and offered that there were “so many holes in this case, it’s like Swiss cheese.”

Arrest

Donna Yaklich was arrested after Dennis Yaklich was gunned down in 1985.

Two brothers, Charles and Edward Greenwell, were also arrested.

Trial

Charges and defences

Donna Yaklich was brought to trial on a charge of first degree murder and conspiracy to murder under a theory that she arranged her husband’s death to obtain the insurance money.

The defense maintained that Donna Yaklich suffered from the “battered woman syndrome” and that her actions were justifiable acts of self-defense under duress resulting from years of physical and psychological battering by her husband. The defence contended that Donna lived in constant fear and believed she was in imminent danger.

The appellate decision described the main legal question on appeal as whether a self-defense instruction was available to a woman who hired a third party to kill her abuser while presenting evidence of battered woman syndrome. The decision held that a self-defense instruction was not available in a contract-for-hire situation.

At the close of the evidence, over the People’s objections, the trial court instructed the jury on affirmative defenses of self-defense and duress. The trial court also gave definitions of “imminent danger,” “apparent necessity,” and “reasonable belief.”

Verdict

The jury acquitted Donna Yaklich of murder in the first degree. The jury convicted her of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.

The appellate record stated that the central issue on appeal was the availability of a self-defense instruction. It held that the trial court erred in giving a self-defense instruction to the jury.

It also stated that the trial court erred in giving a duress instruction because there was no testimony that Yaklich acted “at the direction of another person.”

Conspiracy agreement and Greenwell sentences

The record described that Charles and Edward Greenwell made a deal with District Attorney Gus Sandstrom in exchange for their testimony against Donna. They pled to 2nd degree murder with Edward receiving a sentence of 30 years and Charles receiving a sentence of 20 years.

Sentencing

Donna Yaklich was sentenced to forty years in prison.

The probation supervisor who conducted the pre-sentencing investigation recommended a minimum sentence and suggested Donna was an excellent candidate for sentencing alternatives outside of the Department of Corrections. The probation supervisor said: “I really felt that whether they did what she wanted done, to have Dennis killed, or whether Dennis found out and killed her, it didn’t matter. She was at a point in her life where either was satisfactory.”

The appellate decision reflected that the court’s instructions on self-defense and duress were disapproved. The sentencing statements included that the judge remanded her to the Department of Corrections for 40 years, disregarded the recommendation, and issued a sentence above the presumptive range. The judge’s justification included that Donna, “started this whole scenario,” and that “A sentence in excess of the longest Greenwell’s sentence is also thoroughly justified.”

Dr. Lenore Walker evaluated and counseled Donna and her expert testimony was offered at trial. The record included that when the judge sentenced Donna Yaklich he was “using the court and a woman’s life to express his own ignorance of a battered women’s plight.”

The record said that more than half of the jurors wrote letters expressing revulsion to the judge presiding over sentencing reconsideration a few years later. That judge referred to the jurors’ outrage as their disregard of Judge Seavy’s instructions, “that they must not allow personal sympathy to influence their decision.”

In a written denial of the motion for reconsideration of sentencing, Judge Halaas said: “Under these circumstances, the opinion of former jurors is not useful.”

Appeals

Colorado Supreme Court People v. Yaklich, 833 P.2d 758 (1991) was listed. The People of the State of Colorado were Plaintiff-Appellant and Donna Yaklich was Defendant-Appellee. Case number was 88CA1369. The Colorado Court of Appeals, Div. IV, date was November 21, 1991. Rehearing was denied January 9, 1992. Certiorari was denied August 10, 1992. Opinion was by Judge ROTHENBERG.

G.F. Sandstrom, Jr., Dist. Atty., James S. Whitmire, Asst. Dist. Atty., Pueblo, appeared for plaintiff-appellant.

Law Office of Stanley H. Marks & Richard A. Hostetler, Richard H. Hostetler, Denver, appeared for defendant-appellee.

The appellate decision stated that the People challenged the propriety of several rulings made by the trial court during the jury trial of Donna Yaklich for the murder of her husband. The appellate court disapproved two of the trial court’s rulings and found the People’s other arguments moot.

It concluded:

• The self-defense instruction was disapproved, and the People’s other arguments were not addressed further due to the earlier conclusion.
• The duress instruction ruling was disapproved.
• References to battered woman syndrome, self-defense, husband’s reputation for violence, and his use of steroids were discussed as moot in view of earlier rulings.

The appellate decision said: “We disapprove two of the trial court's rulings and, in view of this, we find the People's other arguments moot.” It also stated: “We therefore hold that under either the People's or Yaklich's definition of "imminent," Yaklich's evidence, even if taken as true, was insufficient as a matter of law to support her theory that she was in imminent danger at the time her husband was killed. Therefore, the trial court erred in giving a self-defense instruction to the jury.”

It also stated: “At the time Yaklich's husband was killed, the duress statute did not require a person to act "at the direction of another person" in order to establish the defense of duress. See § 18-1-708, C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 8B). Nevertheless, the case law required such a condition to exist. See People v. Maes, 41 Colo.App. 75, 583 P.2d 942 (1978). Here, since there was no testimony that Yaklich acted "at the direction of another person," we disapprove the trial court's ruling giving a duress instruction.”

The opinion concluded with concurrence by STERNBERG, C.J., and HUME, J.

Outcome

Donna Yaklich was acquitted of first-degree murder and convicted on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her husband. She received a forty-year sentence.

She served eighteen years of a forty-year sentence before being released. She was heading to a halfway house after spending almost 18 years in prison. The Arapahoe County Community Corrections Board decided on Thursday afternoon that she would be released from the Colorado Women’s Correctional Facility in Canon City in the next 10 days and move to a halfway house in Arapahoe County.

The record stated that Donna Yaklich learned of the release decision by phone because she was not at the hearing.

She was ordered released from the Colorado Women’s Correctional Facility in Canon City in the next 10 days and moved to a halfway house in Arapahoe County. The record also stated she was currently on parole.

Aftermath

Donna Yaklich was described as living the Denver metro area. A newspaper narrative said she was heading to a halfway house in Arapahoe County.

A state task force reopened the Barbara Yaklich case. It was announced that homicide could not be ruled out in the 1977 death of Barbara Yaklich partly because an investigation at the time was incomplete. The investigation was said to be complete but the case remained open and the death was listed as suspicious with cause of death as blunt force trauma.

The narrative included that an ambulance company owned by Dennis Yaklich’s supervisor’s brother transported Barbara Yaklich’s body from the Yaklich home to Parkview Hospital.

The narrative said the investigating agency, the Pueblo Sheriff’s Department, was not notified until two hours later. The lead detective acquiesces there was no examination of a possible crime scene and coined “so many holes in this case, it’s like Swiss cheese.”

Dennis Yaklich was eventually asked to take a polygraph and refused. No charges were ever filed. Many questions remained unanswered. Some people in the community, including at least one of Dennis’ former co-workers, believed Dennis murdered Barbara and got away with it.

The narrative also described that Dennis threatened Donna that she would end up like his first wife, and Donna was prohibited from making any reference to that during her testimony at trial.

Other details

Donna Yaklich’s description of the abuse and her attempts to seek help

Donna said she called Dennis’ partner in 1982 and told him Dennis was out of control, had thrown her down the stairs, and was threatening to kill her. She said the Pueblo detective told her to leave immediately, and she explained Dennis had threatened to kill her family, starting with her father, if she left. She said Dennis’ partner believed Donna was in fear for her life and immediately informed Dennis’ supervisor, and Donna said the supervisor was unsympathetic and gestured as if to tell his subordinate to leave it alone.

Donna said she went to see a psychologist in November 1983. She described the visit as short and traumatic with sobbing uncontrollably during the entire session. She said the psychologist told her to leave Dennis but provided little assistance about how she could do so safely. After one visit, she never went back.

Donna said that in February 1984 she fled to a battered women’s shelter in Denver, but she returned when Dennis begged her to come home and promised he would try to change. She said she was ashamed and told the shelter counselors she was moving out of state rather than admit she was going back.

Donna said that in early 1985 she began reaching out to people and telling them she believed Dennis was going to kill her and seeking advice, but no one took her seriously. She said she asked one of Dennis’ friends if he knew someone that could get rid of Dennis before he killed her. She said she tried to kill herself but was unable to carry it out because thoughts of leaving her young son without a mother filled her conscience. She said she could not imagine her son enduring circumstances like those of Barbara’s children.

Donna said that in May 1985, Pueblo Sheriff Department Officers responded to a 911 call made by Donna’s mother when one of the step-children called Donna’s father reporting that he heard Dennis push Donna through the plate glass window. She said officers talked with Dennis, who took them on a tour of the gym he had built on the property, and after barely acknowledging Donna, they left. She said the incident was a false alarm because the crash heard was a bowl hitting the floor rather than Donna being thrown through a window, and she said none of the law enforcement officers seemed interested in exploring the inferences.

Donna said that on December 12, 1985, Edward Greenwell went to the Yaklich residence with his younger brother Charles and they shot and killed Dennis Yaklich when he arrived home from work in the early morning hours.

Independent witness statements described in the narrative

The record described independent witnesses corroborating Donna’s accounts about physical abuse, including:

• A Yaklich mailman who said he had seen bruises on Donna’s face.
• A telephone repairman who was called twice to fix phones Dennis had yanked out of the wall.

The telephone repairman made statements to a lead detective immediately following Donna’s arrest. The record quoted the telephone repairman as saying: “very visible bruises on Donna’s neck and cheek.” It also included that the repairman said they were so prominent they were noticeable “at a glance.” It stated the repairman explained that in his business he sees “a lot of things like that in the low income areas and the projects, but I was shocked to see a cop’s wife all bruised up like she was.”

Described violence by Dennis Yaklich

The narrative described Dennis Yaklich’s violence against Donna including but not limited to:

• Slapping, kicking, choking, and pushing her down stairs
• Putting his firearm to her head and threatening to kill her
• Taunting her by making his hand in the form of a gun, pointing it at her then lifting it to his lips and blowing on it as if he had actually shot her
• Torturing her by using the cover of darkness in the bedroom to keep her from gauging from what direction the blows would come
• Repeatedly and sadistically sexually assaulting her

Quote by probation supervisor at sentencing

Donna Yaklich’s parting comments

The record included Donna Yaklich’s parting comments: “If you are in an abusive relationship, please seek help. Participating in support/therapy groups will give you the strength within to emotionally break away from your abusive partner. If you have gone back to your abuser, please know that it is “normal” to go back. In time you will learn how to stay away from him emotionally and physically. Don’t give up. If you are a family member or friend of a victim that makes excuses and goes back to the batterer, please know that your support is vital. Educating ourselves about the issues and statistics relative to domestic violence will help us pass this information on to the next generation. Our children need to learn that they have the right to safe and abusive free lives.”

She also stated: “My address: Donna Yaklich #58751 Colorado Womens Correctional Facility PO Box 500 Canon City, CO 81215-0500 Let me know if you would like for me to write you back. If so, please be sure to provide a legible return address.”