Former University of Colorado-Colorado Springs student found guilty of murder, sentenced to life in prison

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO (KCNC) — A man responsible for last year’s deadly shooting at a University of Colorado-Colorado Springs dormitory has been found guilty of murder.

On Wednesday Nicholas Jordan was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony menacing in the deaths of his former roommate, Samuel Knopp, and Celie Rain Montgomery on Feb. 16, 2024. Jordan is from Detroit and was enrolled as a student at UCCS.

During Jordan’s trial the defense stated that he acted in self defense when he shot his roommate. However, the prosecution argued his roommate had previously reported Jordan to police as a potential threat. Jordan was arrested a few days after the shooting. He pleaded not guilty in November.

Prior to his sentencing, which took place shortly after the trial concluded, a recorded statement from Celie’s older sister, Ryan, was played to the court. She spoke of Celie’s love for her children as a single mother and her grief that they will now grow up without her.

“It is so unfair that they will have to learn who she was through questions and our memories instead of her own existence.”

In a written statement, Kevin Decant, Ryan’s partner, remembered when Celie gave birth to her firstborn, saying, “I looked around the room, taking note of this beautiful woman’s parents and thought to myself, those are the best two grandparents a kid could ever ask for… I thought about how one day Celie would be the grandparent, and Faye would be the mother. Now, I can’t help but cry knowing that’s been taken from Celie.”

Celie’s father, Race Montgomery, addressed the court and pleaded for Jordan to be sentenced to life in prison.

“He mom chose her name from the main character of ‘The Color Purple’ because it was unique, but also because that character was kind, smart and could persevere through any imaginable odds. Celie finally found a spot she could not persevere through,” he said through tears. “We will never see her pretty smile or hear her little giggle when she played with her children again. There is a void in our family. A giant hole where Celie should be.”

Race expressed gratitude that the family received justice, stating, “Our family has spent the last year in deep heartache. We have also spent that time in hope, hope for justice. Some kind of answer to how and why our daughter and Sam’s lives were taken from them. All of us have finally found some form of justice in this court today.”

He explained that he doesn’t hate Jordan, but believes he deserves to pay for his crimes.

“We may now try to move on with our lives, though we will never be able to forget how Celie and Sam’s lives were so violently taken away. For this, Nicholas Jordan deserves a life of no rewards from the joy of living,” Race said.

The prosecution asked the judge for consecutive sentences, asserting, “Celie was not collateral damage. She had value, and it should be reflected in the court’s sentence.”

Jordan’s defense argued that he’s Schizoaffective and asked that the court be lenient, stating they believed the mandatory sentence of life without parole is unconstitutional. They claimed, “To have everybody hate you for something you didn’t know was happening in the moment, he’s going to have a lifetime of punishment no matter what this court imposes.”

In his sentencing, the judge asserted he felt Jordan’s past and mental health issues had been appropriately taken into consideration.

“Throughout these proceedings, the issue of mental health and mental illness has been properly addressed by the court in competency hearings, other hearings related to mental health, and, candidly, I find that to be no excuse whatsoever in this case,” said the judge. “The facts of this case indicate that there was an intentional, unprovoked, unjustified and unexcused murder of two innocent young people.”

Jordan was sentenced to life without parole for each count of first-degree murder and 364 days for menacing, all to be served consecutively.

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