29-year-old man sentenced to life for 2017 Plano murder
McKINNEY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2017 murder of Plano resident Christopher Collinvitti.
In November 2017, Plano police responded to shots fired calls and found the Raytheon engineer dead in the entrance of his garage. He was shot twice in the head.
Investigators were originally left with no suspects after questioning neighbors and collecting evidence from the scene, officials said.
But after two years, neighborhood surveillance video helped lead investigator Aaron Benzick identify a potential suspect vehicle. And in December 2019, police matched shell casings from Collinvitti's murder to shell casings left behind from other crimes in Dallas County that occurred within days of his murder.
By late 2020, Benzick used this information along with social media, cell phone extractions, and witness interviews to identify Ladarus Keys and two other suspects. None of who knew Collinvitti, officials said.
All three suspects were charged with capital murder during an attempt to rob Collinvitti, officials said. Keys has a lengthy criminal history, including a prison sentence for robbery. A witness at trial also identified Keys as the gunman.
Keys was found guilty of capital murder by a jury and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The other two suspects are being held in the Collin County Jail awaiting trial.
"Detective Aaron Benzick's relentless investigation brought a brutal murderer to justice. May this jury's verdict bring some comfort to the victim's family," Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said.
