Tag: Colorado
Man claims he killed pregnant wife after she strangled their kids
The Colorado man accused of murdering his entire family told police that his pregnant wife is actually the one who killed their two young daughters — and he simply strangled her after finding out.
Christopher Watts, 33, said he “went into a rage” and took his wife Shanann’s life after finding their oldest daughter “sprawled” out on her bed “and blue,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Watching from a baby monitor, Watts told police that he saw Shanann “actively strangling” their other daughter, Celeste, just moments before setting upon her. He claimed that the children, ages 3 and 4, were both dead already by the time he got to his wife.
“[Watts] said he loaded all three bodies onto the back seat of his work truck and took them to an oil work site,” the affidavit states. “[Watts] said he buried Shanann near two oil tanks and dumped the girls inside the oils tanks.”
The North Carolina native — who was living in Frederick, Colorado — was arrested last week and formally charged on Monday with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of murdering a child, one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and three counts of tampering with a deceased body. He remains held without bail.
According to the affidavit, Watts had been looking to leave his wife and was discussing it with her.
A two-day investigation revealed he was “actively involved in an affair with a co-worker” — and wanting to file for a separation. Watts told cops that he informed Shanann about his plans right before she strangled their two kids. However, he denied having the affair.
Watts, at first, claimed during police interviews that he and his wife discussed the possibility of getting a separation, and everything was fine.
“[Watts] stated it was a civil conversation and they were not arguing but were emotional,” the affidavit says.
He wound up changing his story, however, on the second interview after being allowed to speak with his father.
“[Watts] stated after he told Shanann he wanted a separation he walked downstairs for a moment and then returned to his bedroom to speak with Shanann again,” the affidavit says. “While in the bedroom, via baby monitor located on Shanann’s night stand, he observed Bella ‘sprawled’ out on her bed and blue and Shanann actively strangling Celeste.”
Watts later identified the three locations where he hid the bodies and was placed under arrest on Wednesday night. He is expected to appear in court Tuesday.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/08/20/man-claims-he-killed-pregnant-wife-after-she-strangled-their-kids/
Teen suffocated nephew after he asked to play video games
A Colorado teen girl faces murder charges after she allegedly suffocated her nephew then hid his body inside a closet, according to authorities.
Jennie Bunsom, 16, was identified as the suspect in the death of 7-year-old Jordan Vong, who was reported missing Aug. 6 before his body was found at his Denver home, according to the Denver Post.
Bunsom allegedly killed the boy, who asked her to play video games with him, wrapped his body in a blanket and stuffed it in her bedroom closet.
Police obtained a warrant the next day to enter the family’s home and discovered the boy’s body hidden, according to officials.
“[Bunsom] didn’t tell any of her family what she had done to Jordan because she was afraid,” a probable cause statement obtained by the Denver Post said. “Nor did she tell any of her family where she had hid Jordan.”
The teen girl appeared in court Tuesday morning where it was ruled that she will face first-degree murder charges as an adult.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/08/14/teen-suffocated-nephew-after-he-asked-to-play-video-games-da/
Daycare used Magic Eraser on kids’ faces, caused chemical burns
Parents in Denver are searching for answers after their children received chemical burns at a daycare.
The parents believe a teacher is responsible for the chemical burns caused by an incident involving a magic eraser in May.
“The two teachers came up to me when I picked him up and said, ‘your son and another boy got into a marker fight.’ And immediately my son said ‘Mommy my throat hurts,” parent Caitlin Sims said.
Sims was the first parent to be notified about her child’s injuries.
“The teacher said, ‘oh, I’m so sorry. I must have been scrubbing you too hard when I cleaned you,” Sims said.
Joel and Stacy Dant did not find out about what happened to their son until hours later.
“It just looked red, like just redness was all. And then the next day was whenever it like really started to show,” Stacey said.
Both sets of parents returned days later to review surveillance video.
“It was the toughest thing that my wife and I have ever seen,” parent Josh Sims said.
They say the scabs on both of the boys’ faces does not show the real trauma.
“Pushing her thumb into his neck, ripped him backwards and pulled him over backwards, to the extent that he buckled,” Josh said.
The Dants and Sims’ say they started getting different stories from the school about what happened and what could be done.
“Frankly, we expected the school to advocate a little bit more for us,” Josh said.
Online records showed the school is under probation, but does not show any injuries or complaints in the past three years.
Child protective services told the Sims’ it could be a few more weeks before a report is ready.
The lawsuit filed is against the school, its parent company, and the teacher involved.
A statement from the school’s company says it has taken the appropriate steps and will continue their investigation.
Woman blew up microwave at 7-Eleven with urine sample
DENVER — A Colorado woman has been cited by police after a container of what appeared to be urine blew up as she was heating it up in a microwave at a 7-Eleven.
Police say the incident occurred in the convenience store chain’s Aurora location last week when the clerk heard a loud bang and saw 26-year-old Angelique Sanchez take a white plastic bottle out of the microwave.
A police report says when confronted by the clerk, Sanchez wiped a yellow liquid that smelled like urine onto the floor and walked out.
Police located Sanchez at a nearby clinic where she had planned to take a urinalysis test for a potential employer.
The Denver woman was issued a summons for damaged property. She could not be reached for comment.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/05/06/woman-blew-up-microwave-at-7-eleven-with-urine-sample-cops/
Mom allegedly killed son, buried him with sheep heads over $3M inheritance
A cancer-stricken mother allegedly killed her 29-year-old son in his sleep and buried his body in a pit with sheep heads to settle a feud over who should inherit the family’s $3 million ranch in Colorado, authorities said.
Deborah Sue Rudibaugh, 68, confessed in July to killing her son, Jacob Henry Millison, and burying his body by herself more than two years earlier, according to court records in Gunnison County obtained by the Denver Post.
But investigators at the time considered Rudibaugh’s confession to be an attempt to shield her daughter and son-in-law from being connected to the gruesome murder.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported that Rudibaugh, of Parlin, was arrested on first-degree murder charges in Grand Junction on Friday, one day after her daughter, Stephanie Jackson, 33, was arrested on the same charge. Investigators believe Jackson killed her brother in order to gain control of the family’s 700-acre ranch in Quartz Creek Valley.
Jackson’s husband, David Jackson, 34, was also arrested Tuesday on charges of accessory to first-degree murder and tampering with the body of Millison, the Denver Post reported. All three remain held in the Gunnison County jail.
The family, according to arrest warrant affidavits obtained by the newspaper, was quarreling over an inheritance from Rudibaugh’s second husband, who left behind sums ranging from $35,000 to $45,000 to four children from his first marriage and $30,000 to Stephanie Jackson.
Rudy Rudibaugh, who died in 2009, left the ranch to Deborah Rudibaugh in his will. The Jacksons then returned to the ranch in 2012 after renting out their Denver home.
Millison filed for a restraining order against David Jackson after he pulled a gun on him in January 2013. Millison later disappeared in May 2015, leaving his vehicles and dog, Elmo, behind at the ranch. An investigation into his disappearance was later launched after several people filed missing-person reports.
Rudibaugh then claimed to investigators that her son went on a motorcycle trip to California and hung with an unpredictable group of friends while he used drugs ranging from cocaine to steroids. She also claimed he took with him a book called “How to Disappear Without Leaving a Trace,” the Denver Post reports.
Rudibaugh later told police Millison “deserted” the family after she tore up a will that split the ranch between him and his sister, replacing the document with a will that left everything to her.
One month later, in July 2015, Rudibaugh admitted killing her son and took deputies to the spot where she said she buried him after claiming he tossed her in a ditch and threatened to kill her if she didn’t authorize a new will excluding the Jacksons.
Rudibaugh, who is now battling breast cancer, told investigators she shot her son in the head as he slept and later wrapped the body in plastic before using her “Yankee ingenuity” and a front-end loader to bury his body in a pile of horse manure in a livestock pen. Rudibaugh said she later moved the body to protect it from being disturbed by animals.
Rudibaugh, according to the affidavit, said she planned to leave behind prior to her death a letter detailing why she killed her son and where authorities could locate his body.
Bullied 10-year-old girl hangs herself
A 10-year-old Colorado girl died of an apparent suicide — two weeks after she hanged herself when video surfaced on social media of the pre-teen fighting an alleged bully, according to a local report. Ashawnty Davis, an aspiring WNBA player and a fifth-grader at Sunrise Elementary School in Aurora, got into her “first-ever fight” on school property at the end of October, her parents told local news station KDVR.
Another student captured the fight on video and posted it on an app called Musical.ly, her father, Anthony Davis, told the station.
“She was devastated when she found out that it had made it to Musical.ly,” Davis said.
Once the video was posted, Ashawnty was relentlessly bullied until she reached her breaking point, her parents told the station.
“My daughter came home two weeks later and hanged herself in the closet,” said her mother, Latoshia Harris.
She spent another two weeks on life support at Children’s Hospital in Colorado before dying Wednesday morning.
Her parents believe that Ashawty was a victim of “bullycide” — when someone takes his or her life because of bullying, according to the report. They hope her story could help save other young victims’ lives.
“I want other parents to know that it’s happening,” Harris told the station. “That was my baby and I love my baby and I just want mothers to listen.”
In a statement issued to the station, the Cherry Creek School District said that it does not tolerate bullying in its schools, and has a “comprehensive bullying prevention program” in place.
“We were made aware of that video when a media outlet approached us with it,” the statement continued. “We took immediate action in response, turning the video over to police and addressing the matter with students.”
The fight did not take place during school hours, the district said.
via: https://nypost.com/2017/12/01/bullied-10-year-old-girl-hangs-herself/
Denver Teen Accused of Suffocating Newborn Daughter by Shoving Rock Down Her Throat
A 16-year-old Denver girl is facing first degree murder charges after her baby was found dead with a rock in her throat, according to autopsy results released Wednesday.
Denver police said that a woman called 911 around 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 8 and said that her daughter, Alaya Dotson, gave birth and that the baby was on the ground in the backyard and “looked dead,” KTLA sister station KDVR in Denver reported.
She was named because authorities have charged her as an adult.
The baby, Amekah Dotson, was transported from the home in the 5800 block of Biscay Street to Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead after they removed a rock that was lodged in the baby’s throat.
Alaya Dotson’s mother told police that her daughter was sitting on the patio with a blanket wrapped around her. After leaving to make soup, she came back and discovered that Alaya had blood on her shirt and that the blanket was on the ground.
Alaya told police that her mother startled her, so after her mother went back inside, she “decided to pick up a rock that was on the ground and put it inside the baby’s mouth.”
She added that she “pushed the rock down the baby’s throat with her thumb” and then wrapped her in a blanket and placed her on the ground so when her mother grabbed the blanket, the baby “fell to the ground.”
Alaya’s mother did not know her daughter was pregnant and immediately called police.
Alaya also told police that “she did not know or believe she was pregnant.”
When police arrived, Alaya was also transported to University Hospital where she was arrested.
She is expected in court in January.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/11/08/denver-16-year-old-accused-of-suffocating-newborn-with-rock-in-throat/
Hundreds of teens throws out of control party in for-sale home while owners grab dinner – tens of thousands of dollars of damage
A Colorado couple felt “violated” when they found hundreds of teenagers holding an out-of-control party in their home, according to reports.
Homeowner Mike Cox and his wife were out to dinner when they returned to find their home littered with partying youths and police assessing the situation, 7News Denver reported.
“I think we were targeted because our house was for sale on the market, and somebody saw it online and thought it was going to be empty. But it wasn’t,” Cox told 7News Denver. “Just rage. Felt violated. This is our home. It’s not just an empty house that’s for sale. It’s where we live.”
Cox’s description of the rowdy rager sounded like a scene straight out of the notorious beer-drenched party flick “Project X.”
“There were beer cans, liquor bottles, wine bottles, everywhere,” he told CBS Denver.
Windows and tiles were reportedly smashed, and the ceilings were stained with alcohol.
Cox also captured video of the drunken home-invaders standing on furniture while popping bottles of bubbly.
“There’s video of 5, 6 kids on top of this counter top, squirting champagne all over my house,” he said. “My wife was in tears. It was devastating.”
The couple’s dogs are also still traumatized from the ordeal, Cox said.
The home had undergone months of paint jobs and floor repairs in preparation for the sale, but due to the catastrophic damage, Cox said they will have to take it off the market.
“A lot of work we’ve done has been undone,” he told CBS Denver. “It’s tens of thousands of dollars.”
Cox told CBS4 a few of the miscreants have been arrested, and face charges of burglarizing and underage drinking.
“They don’t value anything. They don’t value people’s hard work, their property—any of it,” Cox said.
Jogger won’t stop pooping on family’s lawn
This jogger has a serious case of the runs — and she just doesn’t give a crap.
A Colorado mom is losing her s—t over a mystery woman who’s been pooping outside her house at least once a week.
Cathy Budde, of Colorado Springs, said her kids caught the daring defecator mid-squat.
“They are like, ‘There’s a lady taking a poop!’ So I come outside, and I’m like … ‘Are you serious?’” Budde told KKTV. “‘Are you really taking a poop right here in front of my kids!?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, sorry!’”
But instead of cutting the crap, the woman — whom the Buddes have dubbed “The Mad Pooper” — has returned to do her business outside the family’s house for at least the past seven weeks, even though there’s a bathroom across the street.
“I thought for sure she’s mortified, it was an accident, she’ll go get a dog bag, come back, clean it up, never run here ever again,” said Budde, who said the jogger comes armed with napkins. “Not the case.”
The Buddes have since turned to the Colorado Springs Police Department for help in nabbing the carefree crapper.
But cops are just as dumbfounded.
“I’ve been here 35 plus years and I’ve never experienced someone that has been defecating in the same area multiple times. It’s bizarre,” Lt. Howard Black told The Post.
Black acknowledged the toilet humor behind the mystery — but said the culprit could have a legitimate mental health issue.
“I don’t want to make this a joke if this is someone in crisis or there’s an issue there,” he said.
The feces fiend could face charges of public defecation, if caught.
“This is an investigation, we will get her identified,” said Black. “We want to hold her accountable for this inappropriate behavior.”
“I put a sign on the wall that’s like ‘Please, I’m begging you, please stop,’” said Budde, who’s taken photos of her mid-action. “She ran by it like 15 times yesterday, and she still pooped.”
“There’s plenty of public restrooms less than a block away from where she’s targeting,” the fed-up mom added. “This is intentional.”
via: http://nypost.com/2017/09/19/jogger-wont-stop-pooping-on-familys-lawn/
Colorado Mother Shot 10-Year-Old Daughter Several Times, The Two Family dogs Before Killing Herself, Coroner Says
The shooting deaths of a woman and her daughter were the result of a murder-suicide, the Pueblo County Coroner announced Thursday.
The bodies of 42-year-old Jennifer Hamula and 10-year-old Stephie Hamula were found Monday after deputies conducted a welfare check at the Pueblo County home, KMGHreports.
Pueblo County investigators say Hamula shot her daughter multiple times before turning the gun on herself. Two dogs also were found dead inside. Both appeared to be shot.
“Overwhelming evidence indicates the mother and daughter were the only two individuals in the home at the time of the shooting,” said Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk M. Taylor.
Interviews with the estranged spouse as well as other family members have been conducted, and no evidence exists to believe there is any other involvement related to the scene, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said.
Hamula had worked as a state corrections officer for about 20 years.
Pueblo County Sheriff’s investigators continue to work with the Pueblo County coroner and CBI on the investigation.