A judge has sentenced a Colorado Springs man to 29 years in prison for his guilty plea to second-degree murder in the slaying of a man whose naked body was discovered in Teller County.

Fourth Judicial District Judge Timothy Schutz imposed the sentence Friday on Steven Henson, 35, in the death of Levi R. Ortivez, whose body was found on Feb. 9, 2010, off Gold Camp Road about 15 miles east of Victor.

Prosecutors previously had dropped charges against Coyte Holbert, who had been accused of being an accessory to the crime.

According to a previously sealed affidavit, Colorado Springs police caught a break in the case after an inmate at the El Paso County jail told a deputy about an unreported homicide.

At that point, Ortivez, 42, was still considered a missing person. His family had reported him missing on Jan. 22, after not hearing from him for six days.

The inmate told detectives he and his girlfriend had gone to a house at 2440 E. St. Vrain St., where she sold some methamphetamine to a friend. While at the house, they saw Ortivez along with several other people, but noticed no problems.

Later the next morning, the woman who bought the drugs called to report there had been a fight and “something bad had happened.” She said her boyfriend Steve and his friend Cody had gotten into an argument with Ortivez and stabbed him. She said they later parked the victim’s gold Cadillac Deville several blocks away. .

Police recovered the Cadillac, searched the home and interviewed Henson.

He admitted hitting Ortivez in the face so hard he knocked him out, police said.

He claimed he did so after Ortivez tried to break down a back door and threatened to rape Henson’s girlfriend, the affidavit stated.

Later, when he checked, Henson told police he could not detect a pulse on Ortivez. He denied stabbing him.

Henson said he and a friend whom he would not identify took Ortivez’s clothes off, loaded him into a Jeep and drove to Teller County, where they dumped the body, police reported.

On Feb. 2, 2010, Henson led detectives to the area, where they later found the body.

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