JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A man accused of tampering with the body of Jax Gratton, a Denver hairstylist who was found dead two months after she was reported missing in April of last year, pleaded not guilty in Jefferson County court Friday.
Brandon David Mumma, 44, was charged with one count of tampering with a deceased human body and one count of tampering with evidence following a March 11 indictment. Prosecutors believe Mumma was the last person who was with Gratton before her death. They further allege he removed her body, her personal belongings and other evidence of her death to avoid detection by investigators.
Crime
Jury returns indictment in connection with Jax Gratton's 2025 death in Lakewood
Gratton, 34, was last seen on the evening of April 15, 2025. Her roommate reported her missing and in the days after her disappearance, her loved ones rallied to search for her across the metro area.
Mumma’s indictment shows that Gratton and Mumma entered his office at 9655 W. Colfax Avenue at 10:41 p.m. on April 15, 2025, before a second man arrived about an hour-and-a-half later. That man, who has been cooperative with police and is not believed to have been criminally involved in this case, then left the unit with Mumma at 1:43 a.m. on April 16. At that point, Gratton was alone and asleep under the influence of drugs, according to prosecutors.
A toxicology report later confirmed the presence of methamphetamine, THC, citalopram, and trazodone in her system. Findings showed that because so much time had passed, coroners were unable to conclude a cause of death. A drug overdose could also not be proven or ruled out, which led the coroner to rule Gratton’s cause and manner of death as “undetermined.”
Prosecutors believe Mumma tampered with evidence in this case, as Gratton's phone last pinged in the early hours of April 16 at that office location.
Video surveillance later confirmed nobody went in or out of the office where Gratton is believed to have spent the night until Mumma returned at 5:55 a.m. the following day. Security cameras showed he stayed inside the office for about an hour before he left to move his car and grab trash bags, which he threw into a dumpster before leaving the area.
Suspect was romantically involved with Gratton
About six weeks after she went missing, police interviewed Mumma, who told them he knew Gratton and that they were romantically involved. He said he picked her up on April 15 before driving to his office, and also alleged Gratton was under the influence of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, and took too much, passed out and started snoring before making gurgling noises.
At one point, he claimed Gratton vomited, and that he and the other man who was with them, rolled her on her side before they left the office.
Mumma told police he didn't return until the following morning and said that when he walked into the office, Gratton was no longer there, but that her bag and shoes were. He said he texted her about her leftover items and later put them in his car.
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During the interview with police, Mumma said he should have called 911 when Gratton vomited. He also said he knew she was missing at that point, and that he had not contacted police to share any information, according to the indictment.
By June 6, police in Lakewood announced that they were investigating a suspicious death after a bystander had discovered a body in a narrow space that is inaccessible to the public near Mumma’s office.
A day later, Gratton’s mother, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, announced on Facebook that the body found in that narrow space was her daughter's. She said a detective was able to identify the body by her tattoos. At that point, Gratton had been missing for about two months.
Lakewood police later ruled Gratton's death as suspicious, which spurred those close to her to call for an independent oversight task force to look into the handling of her death investigation.
Mumma's next court date is Tuesday, June 9 at 9 a.m.
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