DENVER — A Denver mother is speaking out against a potential plea deal allegedly offered to a driver who is accused of killing her 16-year-old daughter in June 2023.
Since last summer, Shyla Combs has suffered many sleepless nights.
“I just try to make it through one day without a breakdown,” Combs said. “It just doesn’t ever get easier.”
The Denver Police Department responded to a fatal crash near West 52nd St. and Sheridan Boulevard in the early hours of June 5, 2023. The road was shut down for hours while investigators examined the scene.
One person was killed in the single-vehicle crash. Combs said that person was her 16-year-old daughter, Lilyanna Miah Gunsaules, who goes by her middle name, Miah.
“She had a really, really hard night. Her and her boyfriend split, and she was supposed to be staying the night with her girlfriend,” Combs explained. “She met some boy on Snapchat. And he came and picked her up at midnight, and she got into the car with him. She didn’t have her phone with her to contact anyone. Nobody knows what happened from midnight to 3 a.m. But they were out driving around, and his blood alcohol was a .26.”
Combs said the driver was heading south on Sheridan Boulevard and crashed into a tree. The car caught fire and the driver took off, leaving Gunsaules in the car, according to Combs.
“We had no idea what happened or who was responsible. And it took months before there was an arrest made,” Combs said. “We weren’t able to have an open casket. I wasn’t able to identify her there. He didn’t care to help her. You know, that’s what really, really bothers all of us.”
Denver7 is not naming the driver since he is a juvenile.
“I’ve been told for a very long time that [the defendant] showed no remorse, from the detective and the DA. And I just didn’t want to believe that. Like, I didn’t want to believe that at all. And now I do believe that,” said Combs.
Combs said there is a potential plea deal with a punishment ranging from six months to two years in out-of-home placement. Combs said there is a possibility the defendant will not serve any jail time and instead would live in a different home than his current living situation.
“I don’t think he’s taking this seriously anyway. But in two years, he could do whatever he wants in his life, and we’re forever broken. We forever have to deal with this and miss her,” Combs said through tears.
Combs is upset a plea deal could be taken in the case and would like to see it taken to trial. She wants a maximum sentence handed down, even though she does not expect it.
A spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney’s Office said they could only tell Denver7 the defendant has a status conference set for March 26.
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