Two men charged with the 2022 killing of East Colfax community leader Ma Kaing pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Nu La, 22, and Swa Bay, 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Kaing’s death on June 20, Denver DA spokesperson Matt Jablow said Monday.
Court dates for their sentencings have not been set.
La and Bay were initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder and 14 counts of first-degree attempted murder. The charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Kaing, 47, was struck by a stray bullet outside her home on Xenia Street on July 15, 2022, when several men associated with gangs opened fire on a car at a playground nearby.
She was unloading dessert pans for her family’s catering business when she was struck in the head and died in her son’s arms. Her death sparked outrage in the East Colfax neighborhood.
Police made four arrests in the weeks after the killings and said at the time they were working to identify a fifth suspect.
The cases against suspects Lu Reh, 22, and Pa Reh, 20, are continuing, court records show. Pa Reh is scheduled for an arraignment on July 15, and Lu Reh is scheduled for a pretrial conference on the same date.
