On February 4, 2022, 65-year-old Donna Gallegos and 69-year-old Michael Arnold were found dead inside their home on Black Bridge Road in Paonia, Colorado after friends raised concern when they had not been heard from for several days. Both victims had suffered multiple gunshot wounds; the Delta County Sheriff’s Office described the killings as an isolated, deliberate, and targeted act.

Investigators focused on a suspect, Mark Burns, who had been previously evicted from the main residence on the property. Burns was apprehended in Idaho about two weeks after the bodies were discovered and extradited to Colorado. Prosecutors presented surveillance footage as part of the case, though the defense disputed the identification of Burns in that video.

A jury found Mark Burns guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of robbery, one count of burglary, and tampering with physical evidence, and he received two consecutive mandatory life sentences plus an additional 45 years. Does anyone who knew Donna or lived in Paonia around 2022 have information that could add context to the victims or the property involved?