Kelynn Lewis (Aurora Police Department).
A Colorado man is headed to prison for going berserk on his estranged wife and trying to shoot her after learning he was not the father of one of their children. Prosecutors say he blew away one of the wife's relatives who "got in the way."
Kelynn Lewis, 34, was sentenced Monday to 57 years in prison for second-degree murder and attempted murder after an Adams County jury found him guilty of targeting his wife and her cousin, Vatrice Little, in a February 2024 gun attack.
Lewis' wife had texted him before the shooting to "inform him that he was not the biological father of one of their children," according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office, which announced the sentencing in a press release. "Lewis responded with a threat that he would kill her the next time he saw her," the release says. "Later that same day, Lewis entered his estranged wife's apartment building, forced his way inside, and went to her bedroom. He pointed a handgun at her and opened fire."
Little stepped between Lewis and her cousin "to protect her," according to the DA's office, as Lewis proceeded to shoot a handgun he was wielding five times. Lewis' wife fell to the floor and "pretended to be dead," which allowed her to survive the attack unharmed.
The couple's four children — ages 9, 5, 4, and 3 — were all present.
"The defendant was there to murder somebody else — essentially a crime of retaliation for news that he didn't like — and murdered Vatrice Little in the process," District Attorney Brian Mason told Law&Crime on Monday. "This was a vicious, vicious murder, and Little died heroically. She was literally trying to protect a family member from being killed and then was killed herself while doing so. It's a tragedy."
According to Mason, the motive for this crime was "very clear" and "laid out in the text messages" that Lewis sent his wife.
"The text messages were a critical piece of evidence in this case and a critical component of proving the case because they went to motive," Mason explained. "They showed us why the defendant came over to that home and tried to shoot his estranged wife and then shot Vatrice Little when she got in the way."
Vatrice Little (Pipkin Braswell Funeral Home and Cremation).
Lewis' wife told local NBC affiliate KUSA that Little was braiding her hair when the attack unfolded. "He kept shooting," she recounted.
As the shots rang out, Mason said Lewis' wife "fell to the floor and pretended to be shot." This prompted Little to step between Lewis and her cousin to try to protect her.
"If his estranged wife had tried to run away at that point or hadn't pretended to be dead, who knows what would have happened," Mason told Law&Crime. "It's likely that he would have continued to shoot her because that's ultimately why he was there."
Mason said Little's actions that day "were nothing short of heroic." He praised her for stepping "in front of a murderer to try to protect her cousin," and in so doing giving her own life in the process.
"That's a pretty remarkable act of courage, heroism, and sacrifice," Mason said.
Lewis was arrested two days after the attack. He was convicted on February 13, 2026.
"In nearly 20 years of being a prosecutor, I have time and time again seen people commit heinous and vicious crimes, and I will never understand the portion of the human condition which allows someone to commit such a violent, horrific act," Mason said. "On the other hand, I have also seen many times the portion of the human condition where people act with heroism or kindness or courage. And that's certainly the portion of the human condition that Vatrice Little showed in this case."
Mason added, "People can do really horrible things to one another as Mr. Lewis did here, but people can do really wonderful heroic things, too, as Ms. Little did."