Former MMA fighter and anti-violence activist Lumumba Sayers Sr. was found guilty of murder Monday afternoon after a two-week trial.

The Adams County District Court jury deliberated for a day and a half before handing down the judgment to District Judge Jeffrey Ruff, finding the 47-year-old man from Aurora guilty of second-degree murder.

Prosecutors had charged him with first-degree murder, which requires premeditation.

The courtroom was quiet and solemn — a drastic difference from the emotional first bond hearing back in 2024 that Ruff called “unbelievable, untenable” because court attendees yelled at each other and spoke over the judge. 

Ruff thanked the families for keeping emotions under wraps during the trial.

Sayers Sr. turned back to face his family behind him. He appeared emotionless, mouthing words to his loved ones.

Jurors also decided Sayers Sr. was not guilty of menacing but that he tampered with evidence.

Each side of the aisle was escorted out of the courtroom separately after the verdict, with police present in the parking lot to maintain security.

Malcolm Watson, 28, was shot at his son’s fifth birthday party outside of a public pool in Commerce City on Aug. 10, 2024.

Sayers Sr. walked up to the scene with a handgun and shot Watson multiple times in the head and body in front of Watson’s family and friends, according to the prosecution.

The defendant then walked back to his car, handed a package to his daughter and a man identified as “Rico,” and then walked back to Watson’s body with another handgun, the prosecution said.

Video footage showed Sayers Sr. fumbling with Watson’s body, allegedly rubbing the unregistered handgun on Watson’s hands before placing it next to his body.

During the trial, the defense, led by Megan Downing, argued that the real murder weapon had not been found and the gun Sayers Sr. placed next to Watson was his own and that it was pulled in self-defense.

Furthermore, the defense claimed that Rico was the real shooter, with multiple witnesses claiming they saw a man in a tan tracksuit flee from the shooting with something in his pocket.

“For you to convict someone of first-degree murder, you’ve got to put that gun in (Sayers Sr.’s) hand,” Downing said during closing arguments on Thursday.

The prosecution, on the other hand, pointed to multiple security videos showing Sayers Sr. arrive and walk straight up to Watson before the shooting. He also did not run from the scene after the shooting or check on his grandchildren.

While the defense’s witnesses claimed to have seen a mystery shooter, all of the witnesses directly involved with Watson’s party said Sayers Sr. was guilty.

Deputy District Attorney Aaron Brunskill said that Sayers Sr. was “overwhelmingly guilty” on Thursday.

“Lumumba Sayers is calm and collected. Why? Because he knows what was going on. He knows it was him,” Brunskill said.

The prosecution, witnesses and police claimed the act was based on revenge for Sayers’ son’s death.

Lumumba Sayers Jr., Audell Thomas, Sayers Jr.’s sister and Gulian Musiwa were shot in Denver on Aug. 19, 2023. Sayers Jr. and Musiwa later died from their injuries.

Earlier in the trial, Thomas claimed Watson was a cousin of a man involved in Sayers Jr.’s death and was a friend with Tyrell Braxton, who was later convicted of the shooting but not the death of the two victims.

Ironically, Sayers Sr. built a foundation in Aurora in 2015 called Heavy Hands, Heavy Hearts Center. The foundation’s aim was to pull kids off the streets with movie nights, Thanksgiving dinners, fitness classes, mountain camping trips and girls’ empowerment gatherings. Fundraising events were aimed at youth violence prevention.

Sayers Jr. had followed suit, creating the Glovez Up Gunz Down Get Your Heads Up in the Hood, a nonprofit that encouraged youth to ditch their guns and, instead, use their voices to solve problems.

Witnesses during the trial claimed that Sayers Sr. was obsessed with his child’s death and even once said that his son was going to come back to life.

“Gun violence and gang interaction is generational,” Sayers Sr. said during his testimony on Wednesday.

The prosecution argued that the motive did not matter — all that mattered was that Sayers Sr. knowingly drove to the pool to kill Watson.

Prosecutors on Monday asked for a pre-sentencing investigation of Sayers to be completed, covering his history and the details of the case to help a judge determine the sentence. Ruff agreed, and a sentencing date has been scheduled for July 24.

The family and friends of Sayers Sr. stood in a prayer circle outside of the courthouse Monday before trudging to their vehicles.

A second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 48 years in prison.