Christopher Wells, 3 Others, Being Held On Charges Of First-Degree Murder
Written By Kim Ngan Nguyen, Web Editor
POSTED: 12:56 pm MST February 28, 2011
UPDATED: 9:28 pm MST February 28, 2011
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. -- Four people have been arrested in the double-homicide case in Douglas County, including the estranged husband of the woman who was killed.
Amara Wells, 39, and her brother-in-law, Robert D. Rafferty Jr., 49, were found dead at 3 a.m. last Wednesday. Wells' 6-year-old daughter found their bodies and ran to a neighbor's house for help.
Amara Wells' husband, Christopher Wells, and three others, were taken into custody on Saturday and Sunday and are being held for investigation of first-degree murder, said Douglas County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Hanavan.
The four suspects are:
Christopher Wells, 49, of Monument
Josiah Sher, 26, of Calhan
Matthew Plake, 26, of Colorado Springs
Micah Woody, 29, of Colorado Springs
They are all being held without bond.
All live in El Paso County, although how they know each other is unclear.
A neighbor in Wells' Monument neighborhood immediately identified a photo of Sher, saying the man had done maintenance work on Wells' home last summer, 7NEWS Reporter Marc Stewart reported.
Wells and Woody are Facebook friends while Woody, Plake and Sher also have Facebook friendships, 7NEWS has learned. Woody and Sher both have military backgrounds.
Investigators aren't saying what led to their arrests and their arrest affidavits have been sealed.
Authorities aren't releasing their mugshots because photo lineups are still being conducted.
The crime scene is still being investigated by crime lab and detectives will probably be there throughout Tuesday, Hanavan said.
Neighbors in the Keene Ranch subdivision told 7NEWS they are thankful that arrests have been made.
A friend of Amara's tells 7NEWS she was an incredible mother.
"Thinking of the wonderful woman she was and how see willingly influenced her daughter," said Jen Hitzemann.
Murder For Hire?
Christopher Wells and Amara Wells were in the midst of a contentious divorce, and Amara had a restraining order against her husband, according to court documents obtained by 7NEWS.
Christopher is accused of violating that restraining order on Jan. 21 and was arrested the day before the bodies were discovered. Wells was in custody on Wednesday morning when his daughter reported her mother's death.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said Christopher Wells was in custody from 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, until he was transferred to the Douglas County jail at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Amara Wells had received thousands of text messages from her husband over the course of several days, according to court documents. He also e-mailed her and in one e-mail, Christopher talked about paying Amara back for some of her clothing that he destroyed.
That e-mail included this warning: "As you know, ignoring me has and will always have a negative impact."
Amara told authorities back in September that Christopher had withdrawn nearly $164,000 from the bank and had quit his job, according to court documents. In one e-mail, Christopher told her he was going to file for bankruptcy on March 1.
When 7NEWS asked Douglas County Sheriff's Office if this was possibly a murder-for-hire case, Hanavan responded, "You know, right now we're conducting this as a double homicide investigation and the only information that we're at liberty to discuss is that it was a homicide and we are following through with every possible lead."
Christopher Wells Violated Multiple Restraining Orders
The coroner said Amara and Robert died as a result of "sharp force injuries." The medical term is used to describe stab wounds, incised wounds and chop wounds.
Robert owns the sprawling house at 2470 Marlin Way with his wife, Tamara (Tammy) Wells Rafferty, who was out of town working when the bodies were found. Tammy Wells Rafferty is Christopher Wells' sister.
Court records show Christopher had violated multiple restraining orders and Amara had feared for her life. She also feared what her husband would do to himself.
In an arrest affidavit dated Aug. 12, 2010, Amara Wells told authorities:
She believed Mr. Wells installed spyware on their computer to track all of her passwords.
Mr. Wells hacked into her Facebook account, removing the block she had activated.
Her father gave her a computer so Mr. Wells couldn't hack into it.
Their life was perfect until Mr. Wells started using drugs.
Everyone had tried to get him to go to rehab, but he refused.
She was scared to death of him and couldn't believe this was happening to her.
In January, Amara told a sheriff's detective that she had a code word with her family in case it was needed and that she had filled out a release with her therapist in case anything happened to her.
She told a detective she "was at the end of her rope and in a hole that she can't get out of."
"It's very hard to believe this could happen between two people who years ago seemed in love," said Hitzemann.
Sher, Plake Have Criminal Record
According to court records, Sher was arrested in July 2005 for assault, domestic violence and harassment in Colorado Springs.
In 2008, he was arrested for drunken driving.
His latest arrest came in July 2010 when he was picked up for speeding, driving with a revoked license and being a habitual offender.
Court records also show Plake has been issued several citations for driving with a suspended license. He was also sued by a landlord trying to evict him from his apartment.
Plake's Facebook page had a photograph of him in a Navy sailor uniform. The page said Plake studied to be a heating ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration technician last year at Intellitec College.
Sher appears in a green camouflage uniform holding an infant in a photo on his Hi5.com profile. It's unclear what branch of the military he was in.
Sher and a woman had a baby boy, according to a 2003 Colorado Springs Gazette birth announcement. His Facebook page said he was employed as a sales consultant at Rocky Mountain Auto Brokers in Colorado Springs.
Under college experience, Sher wrote on Facebook: "to (sic) much work."
Woody's Facebook page says he's married and offers this "philosophy" comment: "Being a pacifist between (sic) wars is like being a vegitarian (sic) between meals."
Woody also quotes John Adams: "We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections."
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said this is still an active investigation and anyone who has additional information in the case is asked to call the tip line at 303-660-7579.
Hanavan said the sheriff's office may release more information as the investigation develops and may hold a news conference later in the week.
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