DENVER — A courtroom battle over freeing a convicted Saudi sex offender revealed new information about the murder of Colorado’s corrections chief.
A judge is now deciding whether to free Homaidan Al Turki from prison in Colorado and send him back to Saudi Arabia.
Friday prosecutors confirmed investigators are still looking at possible ties to the murder of prison chief Tom Clements. He was killed in the doorway of his home in Monument one week after he refused to release Al Turki.
Prosecutors do not want him released.
“If in fact a connection is made to Al Turki, we’re advised he’s a person of interest, then he would be forever out of our reach in terms of our ability to prosecute him,” says prosecutor Ann Tomsic.
Al Turki is now asking the judge to OK the transfer.
In another development in the case, newly released emails show the governor’s office initially pushed hard for Al Turki’s release, while publicly denying any involvement in the case. Some in the law enforcement community question the governor’s office’s involvement.
The judge is expected to rule within 60 days whether to send Al Turki back to Saudi Arabia.