Cotopaxi Man Charged With Two Counts of Attempted Second-Degree Murder

Bryan Roth. (Fremont County Sheriff's Office)

Posted By: Dan R October 3, 2023

A Cotopaxi man has been charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder after a three-day altercation with his girlfriend and her juvenile son.

33-year-old Bryan Spencer Roth has been formally charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, two counts of menacing, child abuse and harassment.

According to an affidavit for arrest, the alleged incidents happened in June and stemmed from the girlfriend buying a season pass to Elitch’s for her and her children and not for Roth and his biological child. His also allegedly was upset because the woman’s son was playing Roth’s Xbox. That evening, he allegedly told the boy to leave the dinner table because he didn’t want to “have to look at his (expletive) face while I eat.”  

As the boy walked back to his room talking to himself, Roth allegedly may have taken the behavior as talking back and followed the boy to his room, the affidavit states. 

A short time later, the mother went to her son’s room and found Roth “on top of him with his hands around his throat strangling him on the bed.” She pushed Roth’s arm “as hard as she could, and the boy started gasping hard for air.”

During the course of those three days, Roth allegedly shoved him to the floor, threw things at him and threatened to beat him with a hammer. He also allegedly slapped the boy and then pointed a hunting knife at him and threatened to “gut him and pull his guts out while he was still alive.”

After failing to escape with her vehicle, the woman was able to call 911 from a closet. When Roth discovered her call to 911, he grabbed her with both hands around her neck and started to strangle her. The affidavit states that he placed her on the bed while in a chokehold, laid on top of her, pushing her face into the pillows. 

She told authorities that Roth said, “The only thing stopping him from blowing her brains out was that his child was in the next room.”

Roth is due to appear in court November 8th.

Dan R
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