DENVER, CO — Timothy Boham, who between 2002 and 2005 performed in gay adult entertainment under nom de porn Marcus Allen, was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the death of a wealthy Denver, CO, businessman. Under Colorado law, Boham will receive the maximum sentence: life in prison without the possibility of parole. Judge Will Hood Jr. is expected to sentence Boham on Tuesday.
Boham, 28, took the stand in his own defense late last week, saying his male lover, John “J.P.” Kelso, 43, committed suicide. Moreover, Boham testified, the apparent murder scene was contrived as part of an elaborate scheme to defraud Kelso’s life-insurance company.
The jury of nine women and three men did not buy Boham’s testimony, requiring fewer than five hours in deliberation before they rendered a verdict.
During the five-day trial, witnesses testified that Boham and Kelso met in 2005. At the time, Boham was working as an escort, and Kelso paid the young man for sex. Later, Boham went to work for Kelso’s Professional Recovery Systems, a debt-collection agency.
Over the next 11 months the men “hung out together” frequently, according to Boham’s testimony. And then, according to police, on the afternoon of November 13, 2006, Boham shot his benefactor in the head at Kelso’s home. Witnesses testified Boham returned to the house several times to clean the scene and steal Kelso’s safe — which he admitted cutting open with a power saw — before fleeing to his mother’s home in Aurora, Colo.
Boham’s mother and sister testified he confessed the killing to them. After that, he fled to Arizona, where on November 16th he was taken into custody by border agents to whom he identified himself as a murder suspect while trying to cross into Mexico, according to court records. He confessed to the crime during a videotaped interview with police; the videotape was played for the jury at trial.
Boham’s mother, sister and a former girlfriend all testified for the prosecution, saying the young man had a history of bipolar disorder and was prone to violent outbursts. In addition, Boham’s mother said he told her he killed Kelso because he suspected the older man kept as much as $400,000 in the safe, and Boham needed the money so he could relocate to South America with his girlfriend.
Boham got his start in adult entertainment when, in November 2002, he appeared on the cover of Freshmen magazine. He was named Freshman of the year in 2003, and again appeared on the magazine’s cover in June of that year. Reportedly he used the Freshmen experience as a stepping stone to roles in a dozen or so gay adult titles for Falcon Entertainment and an appearance in Chi Chi LaRue’s Never Been Touched (Channel 1 Releasing-Rascal Video), among other projects. In 2006, he appeared on the covers of Mandate and Playgirl magazines.
