A Colorado man who allegedly stabbed to death a homeless person while dressed as a demonic clown has been charged with murder, the Denver Post reports.
Prosecutors this week filed a first-degree homicide charge against 36-year-old Christian Lee Gulzow, who authorities say killed Brian Lucero, 29, in a parking lot behind a Denver taco restaurant on May 23.
Gulzow was wearing white clown makeup with dark streaks, gloves with blades on the fingers, and spiked wristbands at the time of the alleged attack, according to police.
Gulzow claims he was threatened by Lucero, who is homeless, but witnesses have said Gulzow was the aggressor, the Denver Post reports.
Records show Gulzow has a lengthy criminal history, including numerous convictions for domestic violence and assault. He also was reportedly convicted of felony menacing with a deadly weapon in 2012.
The newspaper reports that Gulzow’s father, Jack Gulzow, said his son had been attending anger-management classes and might not have been taking his medications. Jack Gulzow told the Denver Post that the 2009 death of his younger son – Christian’s brother – may have impacted Christian’s mental health.
“He is a very troubled young man,” Jack Gulzow told the newspaper. “A dark side of him was coming out. He liked the attention he got. But I didn’t think he had that (violence) in him. He’s not a person to go out and attack people.”
Christian Gulzow lives with his mother and has a son. He is in a goth-metal band and his Facebook page says he runs a music studio that released an album in October containing the songs “Sinful Flesh” and “Rulers of Darkness,” the Denver Post reported.
Those close to Gulzow told the newspaper that he was “a lonely, troubled man who endlessly shared his dark observations and videos in social media posts, but rarely made real-life connections with others.”
Gulzow, the Denver Post wrote, “often went into public wearing elaborate demon, vampire and ghoul costumes. It was just role playing.”
As of Saturday, Gulzow remained in jail without the possibility of bond, according to online inmate records of the Denver Detention Center.
Photo: Denver Police/Facebook
