The Colorado Supreme Court has upheld the prison sentence of a Boulder man who was found guilty in 2018 of charges related to murdering and dismembering his ex-girlfriend.

Adam Douglas Densmore, 38, was initially charged with first-degree murder — after deliberation for the death of Ashley Mead.

After Densmore was found guilty and formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, he appealed his court case.

Prosecutors said Densmore killed Mead at their apartment in Boulder before driving her body to his family’s home in Louisiana, where he dismembered her. He then reportedly drove from Louisiana to Oklahoma, dumping evidence and body parts along the way, before he was ultimately found and arrested in Oklahoma.

Additional charges included tampering with a human body, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse, according to court records. Densmore appealed a number of issues, including whether questions by a Department of Human Services caseworker constituted a custodial interrogation requiring Miranda warnings, according to Boulder County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shannon Carbone.

Carbone said the Colorado Supreme Court concluded that the trial court properly considered “the totality of the circumstances.”

“Applying that standard to the facts presented, the (Colorado Supreme Court) further concluded that the caseworker who interviewed Densmore did not act as an agent of law enforcement when she spoke with him, and, therefore, she was not required to provide Miranda warnings before conducting the interviews,” said Carbone. “Accordingly, the court affirmed the unanimous judgement of the court of appeals and the decision of the trial judge.”

Law enforcement agencies across the country testified during Densmore’s trial about Mead’s blood being found at their Boulder apartment, the Louisiana home and the car Densmore drove.

“We are pleased that the Colorado Supreme Court has affirmed this murder conviction,” said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. “(Densmore) brutally murdered Ashley Mead, who was loved by her family and her many friends.”

Dougherty said the first-degree murder conviction was secured after an intensive investigation by the Boulder Police Department and district attorney’s office.“We appreciate the efforts of the attorney general’s office in representing the state of Colorado on the defendant’s appeal,” said Dougherty. “Densmore will spend the rest of his life in state prison. Given his actions, which were truly horrific, that consequence was certainly deserved.”

Mead was last seen in Boulder on Feb. 12, 2017, and was reported missing two days later when she failed to show up for work. Her torso was found stuffed in a suitcase that had been left in a dumpster in Oklahoma. The rest of Mead’s body has not been found.