DENVER — Wednesday will mark one year since two restaurant employees were shot and killed at American Elm, in the city's West Highlands community.
Ignacio Gutierrez, 58, who was working as a cook; and Emerall Vaughn-Dahler, 34, who was the manager, were found dead inside the restaurant on April 24, 2023.
Denver7 sat down with Vaughn-Dahler's husband, Andrew Dahler, who said they still have no answers about what led to their deaths, despite Denver police actively investigating the case.
"They're still trying to find out if there was any sort of motivation behind it, whether it was money or personal or anything like that, they still can't determine that," he said. "We would believe that it's random, based on the simple fact that both Emerall and Ignacio didn't really have any enemies. And they were trying to, they would always try to help out everyone that they knew."
American Elm closed for several days after the homicides and reopened on Mother’s Day of last year.
A few days after the deadly shooting, Denver7 spoke with a close friend of Gutierrez who said she had seen him just two days before the murders.
"He was loving, he was very respectful, very responsible. Just a good person, a good, good person," Yarely Hernandez said of her friend. "To whoever did this — you took a son, a father, a friend."
In a statement to Denver7, the Denver Police Department (DPD) said they remain committed to solving the double homicide.
DPD said investigators continue actively following leads as they are developed or provided as tips, however the extensive investigative work thus far has not resulted in the identification or arrest of the individuals(s) responsible for these murders.
Thanks to the generosity of the community, in particular the restaurant community, the reward for information in this case is up to $32,600, according to DPD officials.
Anyone with information, even if it seems minor, is urged to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
