close
close

Family of 2015 NAU shooting victim says justice system failed them

FLAGSTAFF, AZ — It's been nearly a decade since a Northern Arizona University student shot and killed a fellow student and injured three others after a brawl that spilled onto campus.

Colin Brough, a 20-year-old junior, has died.

Just this week, shooter Steven Jones was released from custody at the Arizona Department of Corrections.

Brough's aunt, Andrea Jernegan, told ABC15 she believes the justice system failed in this case. A Coconino County judge sentenced Jones to six years in prison in 2020 after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault. But after crediting for time already spent in custody, he served four and a half years in prison.

“It is not fair,” she said, “that the boy is walking around the streets like a bird after four and a half years in prison.”

Zero

ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding you accountable.

Send your news tip to [email protected]

Jones was released Monday on a parole term that expires July 8, 2025. Jernegan knew his release date was approaching because she said she would regularly review his prison record.

She said no one in the family has come to terms with what happened the night of the fatal shooting: October 9, 2015.

“It’s just a horrible memory,” she said.

Jones testified in court that he feared for his life and acted in self-defense that night after he was beaten. But prosecutors say he returned to his car, grabbed his gun and intentionally shot the students.

In 2017, he was initially charged with first-degree murder, which would have carried a minimum prison sentence of 25 years if convicted, but the jury was unable to reach a consensus.

A second trial was scheduled to begin in 2020. Jones faced a reduced charge of second-degree murder, but before that trial began, he accepted a plea deal to the lesser charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Jernegan said there would always be a void without Colin.

“It still hurts a lot,” she said. “There are moments when I just break down and cry.”

Colin's birthday was a particularly difficult day, she said.

“I miss his quirkiness, his laughter and his smile. His silly jokes. I just miss him, you know, like we all do.”

ABC15 reached out to Jones, now 27, to see if he would give an interview. A family friend told ABC15 that Jones is trying to move on quietly and does not want to give an interview.

Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: [email protected]call them at 602-685-6345 or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.

You may also like...