Joseph Underwood

Family members of the late Angela Elizondo say there’s no sentence that would bring justice for her 2019 murder in Cheyenne. And they remain dismayed that Elizondo’s alleged killer, former Cody resident Joseph Underwood, was able to avoid a first-degree murder charge in Laramie County.

But on Monday, District Court Judge Bill Simpson did heed the family’s pleas and sentenced Underwood to serve up to 14 1/2 years in prison for dumping Elizondo’s body in Park County and fleeing police in the wake of her murder.

“I will tell you that I don’t know how what happened here could be otherwise described in any other light than horrific, terrible and tragic,” the judge told Underwood at the tail end of a three-hour hearing. “It’s a monstrous act — demonic, devious, cunning, demented — and it deserves full and complete punishment.”

It was the maximum sentence Simpson could have imposed. Though the judge said it might be symbolic, he also imposed $16,750 worth of fines alongside $650 worth of court fees.

Still, one of Elizondo’s extended family members had told the judge that, “in the end of this, nothing is going to make it hurt less.” In teary testimony on Monday, family members recalled Elizondo as someone who was compassionate and empathetic. They said the mother, daughter, aunt and friend brought light and laughter — and described the deep, wide-ranging impact of her murder.

Prior criminal history

Elizondo, who was 40 at the time of her death, met Underwood while working at a Cheyenne cafe.

Underwood already had a lengthy criminal history. Court records and media accounts say he deployed bear spray into his girlfriend’s vehicle in August 2004, and threatened his then-wife and one of her family members with a gun in August 2014. When Cody police responded to his home that day, Underwood staged a multi-hour standoff before shooting himself in the head.

He recovered, was found competent to stand trial and received a four- to six-year prison sentence for the felony aggravated assault on his ex-wife. Good behavior resulted in him being discharged from parole in January 2019, roughly nine months before Elizondo’s murder.

Charging documents say the two dated, but family members say Underwood eventually started stalking Elizondo, and she contacted Cheyenne police.

Weeks before her death, Underwood reportedly made his own complaints to police, reportedly telling them they’d better do something with Elizondo “or she will end up dead,” charging documents say.

For her part, Elizondo told family members that she feared Underwood and said that, if she ever went missing, her body would be found in the mountains outside Cody.

“He is not the person he claimed to be,” Elizondo’s mother, Cecilia, said Monday, describing Underwood as a “monster.”

Cecilia said Elizondo would still be alive if authorities had taken her pleas for help and Underwood’s threat seriously.

Charging documents quote Underwood as later telling authorities that he and Elizondo got into an argument in early November 2019. He said he blacked out and awoke to find her dead, wondering if he might have strangled her, charging documents say.

Underwood then dumped the woman’s body in a remote spot between Meeteetse and Cody, off Wyo. Highway 120S. A hunter found the remains and notified authorities, who caught Underwood returning to the scene that night.

Underwood tried to flee, but officers from several agencies quickly stopped him. He pulled a gun — one he was barred from possessing due to his prior felony conviction — and threatened to shoot himself. After a couple hours of negotiations, officers were eventually able to wrestle the gun out of his hand and subdue him.

Convoluted proceedings

Then-Laramie County District Attorney LeighAnne Manlove — who’s since been disbarred — pursued multiple charges against Underwood, including murder. However, two medical professionals found he was unfit to stand trial and a judge permanently dismissed the charges in 2022.

Park County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Skoric immediately filed his own charges related to Underwood’s specific actions in the Cody area, including disposing of a human body. Under his office’s management and some new evaluations, Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah found Underwood was competent to proceed with some special accommodations and Simpson agreed.

Underwood’s defense attorney, Tim Blatt, made a point on Monday of noting that — while there was disagreement about whether he was competent — the experts agreed Underwood has real mental health problems, including bipolar disorder, impulse control disorder and severe personality change. Some of those issues, Blatt said, were heightened by a decades-old motorcycle crash and the self-inflicted gunshot in 2014.

“It’s very likely we wouldn’t be here today had some of the things not occurred to Mr. Underwood,” Blatt said.

Underwood declined to address the court.

As for Skoric, he said the maximum sentence was appropriate, saying Elizondo was “a beautiful person” who didn’t deserve what happened to her.

Emotional testimony

Elizondo’s uncle, Robert Ramirez, expressed gratitude to Park County for pursuing the additional charges “to get some justice.”

“The system has failed Angela from the beginning,” Robert told the court, “They weren’t there for her when she asked for help and they let her down in Laramie County, but Park County stepped up and picked him up. And I thank God they did.”

Cecilia, Elizondo’s mother, said the justice system “has made our grief worse than we could have ever imagined” and she said media outlets have lacked compassion in reporting on her daughter’s death.

When she addressed Underwood, she raised her voice.

“Why couldn’t you kill yourself?” Cecilia said. “Why did you have to take our daughter?”

She predicted Underwood would become someone’s “b—” in prison.

“So may you rot in hell, motherf—r,” she said.

After Simpson took a brief break, Elizondo’s father, Ricardo, made similar remarks.

“Your f—ng freedom’s over, motherf—r,” he told Underwood.

Given that Underwood has already served over three years in jail on the Park County charges, and given that inmates may only serve about two-thirds of the lower end of their sentence, Underwood could theoretically be released on parole in less than seven years. However, his early release is not a given — and Elizondo’s family said they’ll be watching.

“Even if you are released, there is not going to be a place where people won’t look at you and know what you are capable of and what you did to her,” Pamela Ramirez told Underwood, “because they deserve to know — because there doesn’t deserve to be anybody else.”

Multiple family members said they will not forgive Underwood, but Elizondo’s brother, Jeremy Smario, did extend forgiveness, saying that’s what his sister would do. Smario explained that he didn’t want to carry Underwood’s “cross.”

“Regardless of whatever sentence you get, we will always be sentenced to life. There is no getting out early for the family,” Smario added. “We will always be stuck with one person missing.”

However, rather than remembering his sister’s death, Smario said he wants to remember her “as being the best.” He described Elizondo as “a giant smiley face.”

“That’s what she represented,” he said.

Simpson said he hoped Elizondo’s family will always cherish her memory.

(Editor's note: This version corrects the math as to the minimum amount of prison time Underwood still must serve.)