10-05-2025
Colorado man sentenced to 4 years in prison for assisting friend in suicide
DENVER () — A Weld County District Court Judge sentenced 73-year-old Mark Switzer to four years in the Colorado Department of Corrections on Friday for assisting his friend in suicide in 2017.
The sentence comes after Switzer pleaded guilty in February to manslaughter – aiding in suicide in the May 2017 death of 49-year-old Nathan Combs.
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Investigators initially believed Combs death was the result of an accident involving a truck, after he was found dead on May 18, 2017, near a semi-truck west of Hereford, however investigators later determined he had been shot.
The Weld County DA said the investigation also revealed Combs had increased his life insurance policy in the months leading up to his death and had arranged for Switzer, a then-friend, to carry out the killing.
'This was not a momentary lapse in judgement or a mistake,' Deputy District Attorney KatherineFitzgerald said, during Friday's sentencing hearing. 'This was a calculated plan and a deliberate action. Regardless of whether the victim asked him to assist in his death, this defendant still killed Nathan Combs and this type of behavior won't be tolerated in our community.'
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Switzer was arrested in March 2023. He was originally charged with first-degree murder but had that charge dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
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