AURORA, Colo. — Police made a gruesome discovery inside a southeast Aurora apartment while responding to a report of a missing woman late Wednesday night.
It happened at around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, as Aurora police officers were responding to a report of a missing person at the Foxdale Condominiums in the area of E. Kepner Place near the intersection with E. Alameda Parkway in the Tollgate Overlook neighborhood.
The caller – the woman’s son – told police his mother was scheduled to arrive at 7 a.m. for a housekeeping job she never made it to. The woman also failed to show up to other appointments she had later in the day, the woman's son told police.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the missing woman’s car still parked in the apartment complex and the woman’s son told officers which apartment number she was supposed to be in. Officers tried to contact the resident in the apartment without success, department spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a news release.
“Officers ultimately decided to enter the apartment, at which time they heard a single gunshot,” Moylan said. Inside, officers found the lifeless body of a 30-year-old Aurora man who had shot himself.
But that wasn’t everything they found.
As they searched the apartment, officers also “located dismembered remains what appeared to be an adult woman,” Moylan wrote, adding that additional remains were discovered outside in a nearby dumpster.
"Investigators found body parts, we know the woman had been dismembered. Certainly, a disturbing scene that not only our officers had to discover, but again, our major crime investigators, the coroner's office, this is one of the worst things they've seen," said Agent Matthew Longshore with Aurora Police Department.
Those remains and other evidence were taken to the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office for examination. The victim’s identity will be released once family has been notified.
"Our heart breaks for the family that now has to go through this process. Here, a woman is going to her job of cleaning houses and was met with violence. There certainly isn't a danger to the community. We don't think there are other people involved. We don't think that this has happened to anybody else involving this man. Investigators are looking at all possible scenarios and angles to this, so the investigation certainly isn't over," said Agent Longshore.
Anyone with any information about this murder-suicide investigation is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
