AURORA | A man accused of murder after police say he killed his friend Dec. 20 at an East Colfax Avenue motel told police he stabbed the man after they fought over stolen cigarettes.
Jeffrey Alan Banworth, 51, was arrested shortly after Ryan Siefford, 31, was stabbed to death at the Pace Setter Motel near Colfax Avenue and Interstate 225.
According to an arrest affidavit filed against Banworth, he told police he lived at the motel and had been arguing throughout the evening with Siefford and another man.
Banworth said the argument stemmed from him stealing cigarettes from Siefford, but he didn’t provide other details. At some point during the evening, Banworth said he grabbed a kitchen knife in anticipation of an altercation. He told police he pulled out the knife while the two were in his room and Siefford tried to run, at which point Banworth stabbed him at least once.
Other witnesses told police the stabbing happened outside Banworth’s motel room, and that they saw Banworth chase Siefford into the parking lot.
A maintenance man at the motel said he shared a room with Banworth and that Siefford also worked at the Pace Setter as a maintenance man. The maintenance man told police that after the stabbing, Banworth ran up to him, told him he stabbed Siefford and demanded a set of keys.
The maintenance man said Banworth threatened to kill him, too, so he handed over the keys.
When police arrived at the motel, witnesses told them Banworth was the suspect and that he had fled over a nearby fence.
A short time later police found Banworth nearby and he immediately admitted to the stabbing, saying he acted in self defense.
He was later booked into the Adams County Jail where he has been held since without bail. He is due in court for a hearing Feb. 28.
In addition to the first-degree murder charges, Banworth is charged with two counts of felony menacing. One of those accuses him of threatening the maintenance man, and another accuses him of threatening another resident of the motel who witnessed the attack.
According to state records, Banworth was on parole at the time of the stabbing for a 2009 identity theft.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for that crime and later charged with second-degree assault for an incident that happened in prison. He received an extra 18 months behind bars for that crime.
After Banworth’s release, he was arrested again for a parole violation in June before being released again.