A man suspected of killing a 20-year-old woman in a domestic violence stabbing outside a Federal Heights apartment was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, according to the Adams County District Attorney’s Office.
Police found the woman, Sachely Diaz, with multiple stab wounds outside Tuscan Heights Apartments in the 1700 block of West 85th Avenue the afternoon of Dec. 30, 2023.
Diaz was reported missing earlier that day after she didn’t come home from a nail appointment, and investigators discovered Diaz had been “involved in a long-term relationship” with 37-year-old Adrian Carracedo-Vega.
Carracedo-Vega’s wife found his bloody clothes at their Thornton home, and police also found that Diaz had blocked Carracedo-Vega’s phone number days before she was killed, according to the district attorney’s office.
Cell phone records also placed Carracedo-Vega at the nail salon around the same time Diaz was supposed to be there. Investigators later found his vehicle with a bloody 27-inch machete inside and the blood was confirmed as Diaz’s.
Carracedo-Vega fled the country and was arrested in Mexico in April 2024.
An Adams County jury convicted Carracedo-Vega after a six-day trial on Nov. 24. Adams County District Court Judge Sean Finn sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Colorado.
In a statement, District Attorney Brian Mason said Carracedo-Vega has now been held accountable for Diaz’s “brutal” death.
“Sachely Diaz was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her,” Mason said. “Her tragic murder is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of domestic violence in this community. Today, her family hopefully gets some measure of peace, though the pain of their loss will never go away.”
Carracedo-Vega was represented by the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender, which does not comment on cases.
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