GREEN RIVER – The Utah woman who drove over and killed Emiliano “Chico” Morales III at the 9th Street Kum & Go in Rock Springs last year will be going to prison for a long time.

Rene Irisrose Daniels, 48, of Parowan, Utah, was sentenced 45 years to life at the Wyoming Women’s Center by District Court Judge Richard Lavery Tuesday afternoon. The sentencing followed more than two hours of testimony and additional evidence introduced by the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office, as well as victim impact statements provided by Morales’ family. She was initially convicted of second-degree murder after a jury trial on June 20. She was also ordered to pay $8,062.15 in restitution.

Second-degree murder has a minimum requires sentence of 20 years and Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe initially requested 75-years to life in prison for her sentence, arguing she is a threat to the community and that rehabilitation wouldn’t help her.

“I don’t ask for 75 to 100 years lightly,” Erramouspe said.

Morales’ friends and family appeared in court wearing white T-shirts memorializing him, while Daniels’ friends and family wore black. Representing the state were Erramouspe and Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Micaela Lira, while Daniels was represented by her defense attorney Michael Bennett.

I don’t ask for 75 to 100 years lightly.

Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe

Evidence Introduced Highlighting Daniels’ Character

Two jail calls she made prior to her trial and letters written when she accused a Sweetwater County Detention Center worker of sexual harassment were introduced to show Daniels’ character and justify the Erramouspe’s sentence request. The first call was between Daniels and her nine-year-old son, where she claimed his father and his significant other were lying to police to get her thrown in prison, telling him she would fight to tell everyone “her truth.” The second call was a video call between herself and a friend, where Daniels questioned why her life should be impacted.

“Yeah, Chico lost is life, but don’t take mine away because of his mistake,” she said in the second recording.

Two letters Daniels wrote were also introduced as evidence. One letter was a request to meet with Lt. Rich Kaumo of the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office to discuss a sexual harassment allegation where she claimed a detention center employee thrust his pelvis towards her as she was receiving a meal. The second was an apology she wrote following the dismissal of a false reporting charge she received after the allegation was found to be false. Bennett objected to each introduction of evidence, but those objections were overruled by Lavery.

Erramouspe argued the evidence showed Daniels has a victim mindset where she blames other people for problems and situations, referring to the calls where Daniels said it was Morales’ mistake and her words to her son where she claimed his father was attempting to have her thrown in prison. He argued she can’t acknowledge the impact of her actions and said she is a danger to the public and doomed to repeat the mistakes that led to her to committing murder.

A series of photos taken of Morales after his death detailing the injuries he sustained were submitted as well, but not displayed in court due to their graphic nature.

Domestic Violence Murder

Erramouspe highlighted the incident as a domestic violence murder and said Morales did everything he was supposed to do in the moments leading up to Daniels driving over him. He said Morales left Utah and returned to Wyoming only to have Daniels follow him. He said Daniels lured Morales out of hiding the day of his death and when he tried walking away from Daniels, she drove over a curb and over him. Erramouspe said she may not have intended to kill him, but still wanted to cause him pain.

“This is clearly domestic violence in its most violent and scary form,” Erramouspe said.

He said second-degree murder doesn’t require premeditation and isn’t a “less bad” charge for murder, saying Daniels didn’t think about the consequences of her actions, calling them cruel, and saying she committed the crime by not caring if Morales lived or died.

“She drove over him not with one tire, but two in a full-sized SUV,” he said.

This is clearly domestic violence in its most violent and scary form.

Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe

Victim Impacts

Several members of Morales’ family gave victim impact statements prior to sentencing, describing him as a loving uncle and dedicated to his family. Family members described him as a loving uncle that was loved by his family.

Morales’ mother, Maryalyce Giordano, said no mother should bury her son and questioned if Morales would be alive if Daniels decided to drive him to the hospital after he was run over. She said at 43, he had his whole life ahead of him and has since had to seek therapy for depression following the crime.

“Chico was one of the main pillars of our family,” she said.

Morales’ father, Emiliano Morales Sr., and other family members said they haven’t seen remorse from Daniels during court hearings. He struggled through tears and grief as he spoke to the court and Daniels, saying she took his best friend away from him.

“I wish that I could hate you … but I can’t because God won’t let me,” he said.

Chico was one of the main pillars of our family.

Maryalyce Giordano, mother of Emiliano “Chico” Morales III

Speaking of Hope for the Future

Bennett said the sentence sought is not enough for one family and too much for the other. He said rehabilitation represents hope for Daniels, saying she took another person’s life and the court will cause her to fully access what she did. He said Erramouspe’s sentence request represents no hope and is too much for the situation.

“Yes, I’m asking for mercy,” Bennett said.

Bennett said the court could craft a sentence that has hope built into it, as well as one that doesn’t.

Daniels spoke as well, saying she will carry the weight of Morales’ death for the rest of her life.

“I realize that I have a lot of things I need to work on,” she said. “I have a long road ahead of me.”

She said she accepts the jury’s verdict and will use the experience to learn and grow. She also realizes she would never be able to take away the pain Morales’ family is feeling, saying she would trade her life if it meant Morales could be brought back.

Requiring Something More

Prior to issuing his sentence, Lavery said the court weighs a number of different factors when considering a sentence, which includes rehabilitation, punishment, general deterrence and removal from society. In this case, while the minimum sentence is 20 years, he thinks the sentence requires “something more.”

He said the court weighs the charge itself, which was issued because she acted in a way that showed recklessness and extreme indifference to Morales’ life.

“I believe you committed that crime as well,” Lavery said.

He said Daniels may not have intended to kill Morales, but she intended to run him down. Lavery said his heart also goes out to Morales’ family, wishing he could do something to ease their pain and hopes the good memories they have of Morales will help him live on. Lavery received letters from Daniels’ father and sister where he said he was shown a side of her that wasn’t seen during the trial, saying how a person acts on the worst day of their life isn’t representative of the person they are. However, he still doesn’t understand what pushed Daniels to do it.

“What you did that day, that chain of events, it’s hard to imagine what possessed you … that you could run someone down with a vehicle,” Lavery said.

Lavery said Daniels has the ability and intelligence to be better before issuing his sentence.

After the hearing concluded, Erramouspe said it was a culmination of a horrific event and no number of years Daniels is sentenced to would bring Morales back, saying the sentence was where Lavery felt justice was best served.