BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tom Fallis appeared in a Monroe County (Ind.) courtroom Thursday and told a judge he would not fight extradition to Colorado after being indicted by a Weld County grand jury in the death of his wife, Ashley, nearly three years ago.
The judge ordered Fallis, who was arrested Tuesday, be held without bond until he is transferred to Weld County to be formally charged with the murder of his wife on New Year’s Day 2012.
Fallis, a former Weld County Sheriff’s corrections deputy, was shackled and appeared in jail wardrobe. He will be moved to Colorado within two weeks, and his attorney advised the court that Fallis likely would post the $200,00 bond upon his transfer and be released.
Also Thursday, an Indiana judge reset the custody hearing for Fallis’ three children. The children’s maternal grandparents were told the judge could not determine custody until a Colorado judge removed restrictions on their visitation.
In July, Tom Fallis filed a motion with a Colorado court to restrict his late wife’s parents’ access to their grandchildren. A third party has since found Fallis’ motion without merit and advised the grandchildren should be placed in their home.
Weld County Judge Troy Hause set a hearing for Dec. 2 on the restricted visitation but declined to order the restricted visitation removed immediately.
“It’s an injustice,” Jenna Fox said. “My daughter has been murdered and (Judge Hause) is dragging his feet.”
Fallis’ children are living with his parents since he was jailed. They are alleged earwitnesses to his confession.
“We only have our grandchildren’s best interests at heart,” Fox said. “Tom Fallis’ parents have their son’s best interest at heart.”
Ashley Fallis, 28, died of a gunshot wound in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2012. The Evans Police Department ruled her death a suicide within days, but family members suspected she was murdered by her husband.
In April of this year, after an extensive two-year investigation, FOX31 Denver reporter Justin Joseph presented new evidence to Evans Police Chief Rick Brandt, prompting him to reopen the investigation and turn it over to an independent police agency.
The newly uncovered evidence included an eyewitness account by neighbor Nick Glover, who claimed he heard Tom Fallis confess to his wife’s murder outside Glover’s window.
Glover said he shared Fallis’ confession with Evans Police Officer Michael Yates, but Yates’ reports omitted them. Yates was cleared of criminal wrongdoing this summer, but he is now the subject of an internal investigation.
On Monday, the grand jury indicted Fallis for second-degree murder and he was arrested at his home in Indiana the next day.