Description
Classification: Homicide
Characteristics: Juvenile (16) - Parricide
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: June 5, 1998
Date of arrest: Next day
Date of birth: 1982
Victim profile: Julie Ybanez, 43 (his mother)
Method of murder: Strangulation
Location: Douglas County, Colorado, USA
Status: Sentenced to life in prison without parole on January 27, 2000
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (Court TV) — When the mother of 16-year-old Nathan Ybanez threatened to send him away to military school, the troublesome teen rebelled. But what Ybanez did went far beyond a typical parent-son screaming match or even running away from home — he killed his mother.
Ybanez got what he wanted but he's not celebrating. Though the teen doesn't have to worry about being sent away to a dreary, overly-disciplined military school, he will spend the rest of his life in prison. He has been convicted of first-degree murder in his mother's slaying and has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
On Friday, June 5, 1998, Nathan Ybanez and his friend, Erik Jensen, bludgeoned and strangled 43-year-old Julie Ybanez. A police officer found Nathan in a deserted park with his mother's bloody corpse. The defense insisted that, although Nathan played a part, he is not guilty of first degree murder like his friend, Erik Jensen. Jensen, now 18, has already been convicted and sentenced to life without parole. Defense lawyers said Ybanez should be found guilty of a lesser charge because Jensen was the real instigator and their client was just a follower.
Julie Ybanez had reason to fear that her son was being led astray. Ybanez reportedly was a normal teen until he befriended Jensen and other members of a band the defendant joined called "Troublebound." Ybanez seemed to be bound for trouble indeed. He started cutting school, taking drugs and running away to a friend's home.
When Julie Ybanez, who was separated from her husband, could no longer handle her son, the frustrated mother decided to enroll him in a Missouri military school. At about 9 p.m. on the day Mrs. Ybanez was to take him to Missouri, Nathan and Erik attacked her in her apartment.
According to a medical examiner, she received 20 blows to the head with fireplace tongs and was also strangled. Prosecutors were uncertain which happened first and who the strangler was, according to the defense. Ybanez denied doing the choking, which was declared the cause of death.
After the gruesome killing, prosecutors said Nathan and Erik phoned a "Troublebound" member to request help cleaning up the crime scene. Brett Baker has assisted in building the cases against the two boys in exchange for immunity. Baker said Nathan was the real mastermind in the murder. According to Baker, Nathan told him Erik Jensen was "scared sh--less" about the whole thing.
