A Riverton man accused of beating his friend to death and leaving him for his parents to find agreed to plead guilty three days before his manslaughter trial was due to start.
Nicholas Joren Blackburn, 30, was scheduled to go to trial Monday on manslaughter accusations, stemming from evidence that he killed his cousin and friend Pete Ouray, 29, last March.
On Friday, however, Blackburn signed a plea agreement in which he’s promised to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and to a sentence of between six and 12 years in prison, with credit for the time he’s already spent in jail during his prosecution.
Manslaughter can carry a punishment of up to 20 years in prison when there’s no plea agreement limiting the sentence.
Blackburn also has agreed to pay restitution and any other costs or fines the court orders of him.
If Fremont County District Court Judge Jason Conder rejects the plea agreement, Blackburn would have the chance to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial or negotiate a new plea agreement.
One Year Ago
Ouray’s mother found him face-down in his bedroom March 17, 2024, after Blackburn visited Ouray in his room in the family home three days before, says the case affidavit.
Ouray’s stepfather, Rudy Apodaca, heard the men fighting in the night and the morning after March 15, 2024. He heard Ouray yell for Blackburn to leave him alone, followed by a struggle, says the document.
When Blackburn emerged from Ouray’s bedroom looking angry and agitated, the affidavit says Apodaca asked what was “all that about?”
Blackburn said Apodaca should ask Ouray that, then he threw Ouray’s vehicle key at Apodaca, the document adds.
Apodaca then watched Blackburn storm out of the home and slam the front door, the stepfather told investigators later.
Ouray’s mother had checked on her son the morning of March 15 and found him lying face-down on his floor, but that wasn’t unusual to her, she told investigators.
The affidavit says she left him to rest and, two days later, when she noticed her son was still lying face-down, she realized he was dead. That was March 17, 2024.
Ouray’s mother then called 911.
Fremont County forensic pathologist Dr. Randall Frost concluded after an autopsy that Ouray had died by blunt-force trauma and homicide.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
