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Chinnock sentenced for girlfriend’s murder

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AURORA, COLORADO — A Polson man who pled guilty to the murder of his girlfriend earlier this year was sentenced in Aurora District Court on July 12. 

Dakota Chinnock, 21, has been sentenced to serve a total 60 years behind bars for the kidnapping and murder of Amanda Farley, 20, also of Polson. Chinnock was sentenced to the maximum 48 years for second-degree murder and an additional 12 years for kidnapping, both sentences to be run consecutively. 

According to the charging documents, on Sept. 5, 2021, Aurora police responded to the City Center Station Apartments at 7:58 a.m. following the report of a woman unconscious and not breathing. Chinnock, who made the 911 call, had a fresh scratch on his forehead and right thigh according to officers and his hands were sullied with dirt and blood.

The victim’s boyfriend since their time at Polson High School, Chinnock was arrested after further questioning, interviews with witnesses and the discovery of a green propane tank believed to be used as a weapon.

Originally charged with four separate felonies for first degree murder, deliberate homicide, rape, and sexual assault with a weapon, Chinnock pleaded guilty in May to lesser charges of second-degree murder and kidnapping, as well as a crime of violence count which is a sentence enhancer. 

The sentence was handed down by Arapahoe County Judge Elizabeth Ann Weishaupl. Chinnock will serve his 60 years in a Colorado Department of Corrections prison.

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