DENVER, CO – A Colorado man has been sentenced to 42 years in prison for fatally shooting his former co-worker’s wife after going to their home seeking confrontation following his termination from work.
Ernest Cunningham, 53, was found guilty in December 2025 of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Kelsey Roberts-Gariety. The sentence was handed down on February 27.
On June 29, 2024, Cunningham went to the Denver apartment where Roberts-Gariety lived with her husband, who had worked alongside Cunningham until Cunningham was terminated. According to police, Cunningham intended to confront his former colleague but instead encountered Roberts-Gariety when she answered the door, at which point he shot and killed her.
Court documents obtained by The Denver Post reveal that Roberts-Gariety’s husband told investigators that Cunningham “knew where they lived and had issues with him.” The husband reportedly told police that Cunningham used drugs while on the job, which led to his firing.
Following his termination, Cunningham allegedly directed his anger toward Roberts-Gariety’s husband, repeatedly calling and threatening him, according to police reports.
Investigation details show that another apartment building resident heard a gunshot on the afternoon of the murder and the sound of someone fleeing the scene. A second resident captured video of Cunningham leaving the building in his vehicle, which authorities used to track him down and make an arrest hours later.
Surveillance footage also recorded Cunningham’s car departing the building moments after the shooting occurred.
At the time of the murder, Cunningham was on parole following a previous burglary conviction, court records show.
Roberts-Gariety’s sister, Kylie Al-Nubu’at, spoke to local NBC affiliate KUSA about the sentencing, saying she understood that anything beyond 20 years was “basically a life sentence” for Cunningham. “He took my sister’s life. We’re serving a life sentence of grief, so now I feel like justice has been served,” Al-Nubu’at said.
