and forth fights... last night's gop debate was another ugly slugfest. in an effort to save their campaigns both marco rubio and ted cruz focused on donald trump... and one candidate tried to stay out of the cross hairs.

more highlights from last night's debate in just a moment but first let's get you set for the friday ahead... marty is joining us...today we continue to warm up into a beautiful weekend. good morning marty! what prosecutors

close-knit rural town is hard to come to terms with. prosecutors say a former death row inmate held a young woman hostage for months - raping and torturing her. 9news reporter tarhonda thomas joins us this morning with more

suspect... and how the victim finally got out. cheryl, the small community of gateway is shocked like something like this could happen there... really anywhere. it's a terrible crime. police broke this case in february. and now we're learning details about what happened. a 26 year old woman who was homeless... offered a place to stay. police say- the person who made that offer was 61- year-old claude lee wilkerson. but when he got the woman to his home... he tortured and raped her... chaining her up in the house... only allowing her out a few times. this happended for four months. police say-- wilkerson was assisted by another teen runaway. that runaway went to police in february... and told them about the woman who'd been kidnapped. when a deputy went to the home to check it out-- the woman asked to be arrested. sensing that something was wrong-- the deputy got the woman away from the house. that's when they learned the horriffic story of her ordeal. here's the man accused of the crime. the mesa county sherrif's department

in texas. claude lee wilkerson's first major run in with colorado law came in a 1974 -- during a burglary case in grand junction. it's unclear whether he was convicted. in 1978 - he was one of four men arrested and convicted in connection with the deaths of three people during a jewelry store robbery in shiner, texas. our sister station khou in houston reports the victims were taken to a farm where they were shot. he was convicted but... in 1983 - he was freed from a texas state prison on a technicality. a judge threw out his confession because he didn't waive his rights. arrest and court records show he's had several arrests and convictions in colorado since 1987. he's been arrested and convicted for d-u-i, property damage and criminal mischief. in 1997 - he was charged with intimidation and assault in montana -- convicted of intimidation. 9wants to know confirmed wilkerson bought his property in

now, wilkerson is facing multiple charges connected to this case. corey, he's being held on a one- million-dollar bond. there are so many angles to this story and we are going to get into them throughout the morning. you can also find more information about this case -- like how the suspect got off of death row -- on the 9news app and 9news dot com. we heard name- calling -- veiled references -- and targeted attacks as marco rubio and ted cruz tried to take down donald trump. the candidates overtalking one another in the fox news channel debate. trump was constantly other candidates moderators... nbc's tracie potts breaks down the highlights. --- insert pkg --- trump/rubio :00-04 this little guy has lied so much...here we go. beyond the bickering... cruz :05-08 donald, learn not to interrupt. it's not complicated. the name calling trump :09-12 excuse me. excuse me. i've given my answer, lyin' ted. the insults and accusations trump/rubio :14-21 don't worry about it. don't worry about it little marco, i will. allright, well, let's hear it big donald. gentlemen, gentlemen - you have got to do better than this. cruz :21-24 i don't think the people of america are interested in a

there was... substance in the fox news channel debate. most of it directed at the frontrunner. cruz :30-33 why did you write checks to hillary clinton to be president in 2008? trump :34-37 actually it was for business. it was. it was. the moderators challenged trump on his new health plan: trump :40-45 wallace add up, sir. positions on syrian trump :51-54 we have to have talented people in this country. trump's refusing to release a new york times tape... that reportedly shows him backing off with mexico... but he trump 1:03-1;07 you have to be able negotiation. - we now need troops in libya to go after isis. on the ground in numbers. what did trump trump 1:17-1:22 it's getting boring. /edit/ i did think it would be more evil, i did think it was going hillary clinton didn't need many words to describe how she felt about the debate... she posted these gifs on twitter. the first one she's rubbing her head... asking "how many more of these do we have to sit through?" she made a second rainbow gif... tweeting "marriage quality is law of the land" deal with it hashtag gopdebate. not a lot of words

didn't need many words to describe how she felt about the debate... she posted these gifs on twitter. the first one she's rubbing her head... asking "how many more of these do we have to sit through?" she made a second rainbow gif... tweeting "marriage quality is law of the land" deal with it hashtag gopdebate. not a lot of words but her message was pretty clear. the u-s and south korea have started talking about deploying an advanced missile defense system to counter the threat from north korea. officials from both counties signed a formal agreement in seoul, korea today. this comes after leader kim jong un reportedly ordered the military to be ready to use nuclear any time." north korea's agency reports that kim made the supervised a rocket launcher

the man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death a year ago will be arraigned today in arapahoe county. glendale police say severiano almendariz stabbed nora deleon to death in february of last year. the night before she had told him she planned to move out of their house... and live with another man. one of two men serving time for fatally beating a disabled man in boulder--is appealing his convictions. austin holford filed his appeal last month he says a request he made for alternative defense counsel should have been approved.... after his attorneys misadvised him on his plea agreement. holford pleaded guilty to murder, assault and robbery. he's serving a 56- years for aaron tuneber's death. his accomplice luke pelham is serving a 30-year sentence. today sports authority will begin liquidation sales at about 140 stores. the national retailer filed for bankruptcy this

three stores here in colorado are closing: the sports castle in downtown denver, the store in greenwood village, and the outlet in littleton. liquidation sales are expected in a few weeks although that could vary from impact about a third

freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw. we know it all too well. we love the snow and the sun, but the freeze-thaw process might have potholes already

colleen ferreira is live in denver. colleen crews just worked on an area where you're at. you can see the fresh patch they put on here. denver public works has filled 11 thousand potholes so far this year. works has filled 11 thousand potholes so far this year. on any given year they can fill up to 100 thousand potholes. we tagged along with a pothole crew to show you how they go around patching it up and making the road safe for you to drive. weather permitting, the crews are constantly working through the year. at any given time they have 8-10 crews working to fill potholes, monday through friday. most of their work.comes from your requests. if you're not a fan of calling 311 - there's now an easy way report potholes on your cell phone! i'll talk about that at 5:30am go to our facebook page and let us know where is the most frustrating part of your commute star wars fans have another movie to look forward in the winter.... but something exciting is coming out even sooner! i'll tell you what it is! star wars fans have another movie

the winter.... but something exciting

bison--- the live kind -- today 30 of the animals will be sold off to the highest bidder. the 17 bulls and 8 heifers are from the denver's bison herd in genesee. this is video from the annual auction last year where the same amount of animals...and the city made 60- thousand dollars. back into the the city started this herd in the early 19-hundreds preserve the species. apple is turning to its customers. launching a twitter

questions. the company is also tricks... as well as through the @ apple support account. can have more magical adventures on the high seas. disney is adding two more ships to its cruise fleet -- bringing the total to six ships. the walt disney company says the new ships will have roughly 12-hundred cabins... little bigger than the fleet's two the disney dream and the fantasy. it'll be a while experience them -- the ships won't set sail until 2021 and 2023. can you feel it... the force is calling you... to get your copy of the latest star wars movie. yes... it's almost here. next month you will be able to watch star wars: the force awakens from the comfort of your own home. on april 1st -- you can order the movie on demand... blu-ray discs and d-v-d's will go on sale april 5th. to mark the at home release... target, wal-mart and best

collectible versions of the blu-ray combo pack. a denver program wants to get teens excited about science... by taking science out of the classroom and bringing it into the

students excited about careers in stem -- science, technology, engineering and math. 9news reporter maya rodriguez explores the plan to help teenagers of today become the scientists of tomorrow. sometimes. to understand the part. you have the dress the part. "when i saw it, i thought i was going to pass out." caroline janney is a freshman at east high school. trying on some of the heavy-duty gear researchers wear when they do field work at the south pole. "it just sounds so interesting to learn to live in such a unique place." she's one of two dozen students from east high and john f. kennedy high in denver. who visited the national oceanic and atmospheric administration complex in boulder. it's part of a program called my brother's keeper. and the idea revolves around getting teens excited about science. and its real-world applications. "what we're trying to do is expose them to new careers that are related to some of the stem stuff they are working on currently in their high school." that included lessons about lightning safety. and experiments with electricity.. "we're always looking for young students, bright, that are interested in science and we like to spark their curiosity." and a hands-on look at the air we breathe every day. from collecting the air samples. to testing them in a lab.. giving these students a potential glimpse into their futures. "the students that are participating in stem education, they're way more connected to school. they're more motivated to be there, they're pushed a litings, new projects, neepts that one e of these very stver public schoolshundred students are en denver public schools tells us more than 12-

three puppies are safe thanks to the fresno fire department... here you can see a firefighter grabbing a box -- the three puppies are inside. it took a little longer for them to save the mom. one firefighter had to crawl about 70 feet through a concrete tunnel to reach her... she was scared -- but eventually he scooped her up. a local resident is fostering the mom and her puppies until they are healthy enough for adoption. here's another cute one... some female panda's in japan celebrated girl's day. hinamatsuri or girls' day is a centuries old tradition where people pray for the health and well- being of girls. yesterday two twin

some special treats to mark the occasion. look at them playing -- so cute. they got two ice, flower-shaped gifts made in traditional colors. it'f fix this friday! forget showcasing just one picture per frame... we'll show you how to make a trendy collage... it takes some heavy lifting...especially if you want to use a large frame.. but these turn out really cool. vida urbonas will show us how to make it happen...today on fix this on 9news at noon. that's going to do

verbal punches. the republicans hurled insults and accusations for most of the debate... but we'll sort through all that - to find some actual messages for voters. a terrifying story played out in this remote part of western colorado. a woman chained up... and held captive... for months. her suspected captor -- a former death row inmate in texas how he was freed... and how he ended up in colorado.. when the sun rises over denver in about an hour- and-a-half... it will be the start of a