Colorado couple fights during Broncos game; woman dies, man jailed for murder

A Parker man has been charged with murder following his girlfriend's death after the pair's argument during Denver Broncos broadcast turned physical, then fatal.

Matthew Ivester, 37, was arrested after he called 911 and told dispatchers Stephanie Long didn't appear to be breathing. He was placed in handcuffs nearly twelve hours later following his interview with Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office investigators. 

In that interview, Ivester stated he and Long, 36, both started drinking while watching the Broncos game the prior afternoon. He said, per the arrest affidavit, that Long head-butted him as he sat on the couch. Ivester responded by pulling her down to the couch next to him and restraining her, as he said in the interview.

Other investigators searched the couple's residence located in the 6700 block of South Ivy Way in Centennial. In it, they found a video recording from a camera mounted inside the residence. The video showed the argument becoming physical, starting with Long's head-butt. It showed Ivester then stood up from the couch, grabbed by on or near her throat, slapped her several times, and shook her "violently," an investigator stated in the affidavit. 

Long then got up and walked around unsteadily for a few moments. She complained that her head hurt and tried to call 911, but Ivester took her cell phone from her hands, according to the affidavit. 

Long also mentioned the camera in the room several times, according to investigators who watched the video. Ivester mistakenly told Long that the camera was not recording. 

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) | 1-800-787-3224 [TTY]

Ivester called 911 at 12:24 a.m. on Sept. 18 after finding Long unconscious in a bedroom. He performed CPR, as instructed by dispatchers, until deputies arrived. He has been jailed on seven charges, now including 2nd Degree Murder, since that day.

Long passed away later after being hospitalized in Littleton. A doctor told investigators that she suffered a brain injury and cardiac arrest, and went into a coma. 

Ivester is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 6. 

RELATED: Domestic violence: Where to get help in Colorado

Colorado's Domestic Violence Program is part of the Colorado Department of Human Services and works with and helps people find community-based domestic violence advocacy programs.

Editor's Note: Following the publication of this article, the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office shared an update: that the death was "a homicide and the cause was blunt force head injuries."