GREELEY - Shawna Nelson, the woman at the heart of Greeley's love triangle murder case, appeared in court Friday and mouthed, "I'm OK," and, "I love you," to family members who came to support her.

Her family members were in tears and declined to speak at the end of the short hearing, where the judge set a preliminary hearing for April 19. On that date, Nelson will hear the evidence against her as prosecutors try to prove she should face trial in the slaying of Heather Garraus, the 37-year-old wife of Nelson's ex-lover.

Nelson was quiet and composed as she appeared in shackles and an orange jail uniform. She spoke just once to assure the judge that she understood she was waiving her right to a preliminary hearing.

The case, which has since spawned revelations of a second love triangle, has rocked Greeley's law enforcement community.

Nelson is a former emergency dispatcher for the Greeley- Weld County Communications Center. Her husband is a Weld County Sheriff's investigator.

Nelson's family members have said she had an affair with Garraus' husband, Ignacio Garraus, who recently resigned from the Greeley police force. They say he is the father of Nelson's third child, a boy, who is nearly a year old. She also has an older son and daughter.

Emotions exploded among the Garrauses and Nelson after Heather Garraus learned weeks before her death that her husband was the father of Nelson's baby. Nelson is accused of sending threatening text messages to Ignacio Garraus and taunting Heather at the credit union where she worked.

After Ignacio Garraus told Nelson he planned to mend his marriage and that he didn't want to raise the baby, Nelson allegedly exploded. She is accused of leaving her three children home alone, donning a mask and gunning down Garraus on Jan. 23 as she left work.

On Friday, Weld County District Judge Roger Klein set the preliminary hearing and ordered Nelson to submit to a mouth swab so prosecutors can compare her DNA to evidence from the crime scene.

As prosecutors began to work on the case, Nelson's husband, Ken Nelson, acknowledged that he had had an affair with a Weld County prosecutor.

McCrimmonK@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2502