It’s distressingly rare for cold cases to heat up decades after they were committed — and when they do, as with the death of Jacqueline Gallegos, whose killer was brought to justice twenty years after her passing, the reason is often improvements in DNA technology. Officials in Summit County are…
In October 2013, we told you about a massive search for a child kidnapper and the subsequent arrest of John Snorsky, whose friends insisted he was innocent. Snorsky, who had previously told a Westword reporter about his time in prison and difficult childhood, eventually pleaded guilty in the case. But…
UPDATE: Third Judicial District Attorney Frank Ruybalid has reached a settlement in a state ethics investigation of his office. Ruybalid admitted to thirteen violations of Colorado’s rules for professional conduct of attorneys, and received a suspended six-month suspension of his law license and 23 months of probation. According to a…
In 2013, we told you about Robert Gonzales, who was accused of pimping a foster child for cash and meth. Gonzales has now been given a 112-years-to-life sentence — a jolt that strikes one of the jurors who found him guilty as excessive in the extreme. And indeed, Thomas White,…
Judging by his online postings, Daerius Churchill, 22, was a relentlessly positive person who was beloved by his family and friends — which makes his murder on Sunday (days before yesterday’s double-homicide at a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless-run building) that much more cruel. The Denver Police Department is reaching…
Update: Yesterday, we told you about reports of two attempted sexual assaults that victimized teenage girls at Monarch Mountain ski area; see our previous coverage below. Now, an arrest has been made in the case. The alleged perpetrator: a fifteen-year-old boy. See also: Photos: Leo’s Smoke Shack at Breckenridge Destroyed…
Update: The stories surrounding Colorado Springs mayoral candidate Justine Herring keep getting stranger and stranger. Following her arrest on a felony menacing charge for allegedly pointing an AR-15 at a man in a public park (see our previous coverage below), she was busted again on a similar accusation. She’s also…
Yesterday, we kicked off our look at the most memorable mug shots of 2014 with a look at women’s booking photos. Today, it’s time for ink — and if you think this shot of Justin Lamb’s “FUCK COPS” tat is eye-catching, just wait until you see the rest of his…
If a child is left home alone, even for a short time, terrible things can happen. That’s among the tragic takeaways from a fire that claimed the life of three-year old Lileigh Kellenaers — and while her mom, Kristen Braig, and Braig’s boyfriend, Dustin Blanchard, are suspected of child abuse…
As we move into 2015, it’s time for a look back at the most memorable mug shots of last year. The first of several posts features the women who found themselves posing for booking photos in 2014, including Emily Anderson, whose winning smile contrasts with reports that she admitted trying…
Mike Alvarado is the pride of Denver boxing, and on January 24 at the 1STBANK Center, he’s scheduled to face arch-rival Brandon Rios in a key match scheduled to be broadcast on HBO. But if and when he steps into the ring, he’ll have a shadow hanging over him –…
Last May, we told you about Alton Kirkland, who’d been busted for a hit-and-run crash that killed Jordan Sprouse, eighteen — and reports suggested that he’d split even though his girlfriend and kids were hurt in the crash, too. Now, Kirkland has pleaded guilty to nine counts, including multiple felonies…
What began as an unattended death investigation on New Year’s Eve quickly turned into a homicide inquiry. Now, the victim, Toshio Gilmore, has been identified, but no arrests have been made in the case. Here’s the latest. See also: Jayson Figueroa Among Victims in Adams County Triple Murder, One Survivor…
Yesterday our blogs were feeling nostalgic about 2014. But today they’re all about the holidays — and partying our way from Christmas Eve right into the new year. On Cafe Society, Ben Landreth serves up the top ten spots where you can have a very merry Christmas Eve meal. Our…
In a highly unusual case, a female correctional officer who worked at the state prison in Sterling has been charged with multiple counts of unlawful sexual contact, after inmates reported being groped by the officer during pat-down searches. And one prisoner who claims to have triggered the investigation says it…
Television shows like CSI have given us, the channel-surfing American public, an almost mystical faith in the crime-solving abilities of DNA. We expect the presence of foreign DNA in the victim’s bite wound to nail the perp, and the absence of any traces of the stuff to help absolve the…
This past March, Loveland Police Officer Garret Osilka was shot and seriously wounded during a routine traffic stop. Cody Powell was busted for the crime, and he’s now received a forty-year sentence — one not long enough for many of Osilka’s colleagues. Photos, videos and more below. See also: Garret…
This week’s cover story, “The Coldest Case,” looks back at the still-unsolved 1996 murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey — and the long, lonely battle waged by Fleet and Priscilla White, former friends of the Ramseys, to learn how the investigation got so badly derailed. The case had a devastating impact…
Update: As we noted in a December 12 post, Gregory Kilcollins’s Facebook profile photo featured him wearing a hat whose inner brim is emblazoned with the term muerte, the Spanish word for death. Two days later, witnesses say Kilcollins shot up an apartment complex, seriously injuring one man in the…
Yesterday, we told you about an $11 million verdict for Ken McGill, who suffered a stroke while in Jefferson County Detention Center. But the McGill incident isn’t the only jail-related tragedy to spur a multi-million dollar settlement this week. Colorado’s Department of Corrections has reportedly agreed to pay $3 million…
In recent months, officials and marijuana activists alike have been calling for cannabis users to make sure their stash isn’t accessible to children. Alysia Lombard and Mario Hollerway are accused of ignoring that advice and a lot more in relation to their three-year-old daughter, who tested positive for THC after…
Update: We finally know the identities of the victims in the Adams County triple murder for which Furmen Leyba and Gabriel Flores have been formally charged: They are Johnny Angel Gutierrez, eighteen, Jason Albert Quizada, 37, and Jayson Antonio Figueroa, seventeen, Moreover, one person is said to have survived the…
