(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — A man who called 911 in September 2024 and told dispatchers that he murdered his wife has been found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), on the morning of Sept. 1, 2024, dispatchers received a call from Stephen Chan reporting that he had killed his wife. Chan then abruptly hung up, though the phone’s location was traced to the area of Walsen Road in Gleneagle, southeast of Monument.
Another 911 call was received shortly after, reporting a body was dumped in the 600 block of Walsen Road, near Smith Creek. When deputies arrived at the location, they discovered the body of 54-year-old Jian Chan, Stephen’s wife.
Research on the 911 caller’s phone led to a possibly associated address in the 13800 block of Horsetail Terrace, just south of the Walsen Road location where Jian’s body was found. A welfare check was performed at the Horsetail Terrace address, but Stephen Chan had already turned himself in to a Colorado Springs Police substation. He was arrested on of first degree murder, kidnapping, and assault by strangulation.
In April 2025, the prosecution declined a manslaughter plea deal, and Chan entered a plea of not guilty. According to court documents, on Friday, Aug. 15, Chan was found guilty on all three charges and was sentenced to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections on the murder charge. He received 32 years for the assault charge and six years on the kidnapping charge.
