DENVER — Since 2017, every April has been a challenge for Trey Grimes. Every year that passes is another year spent searching for the answer to one question: Who killed his son, Jonathan Morehead?
"One of the most unique things about Jonathan is his ability to find the good in anything," Grimes said about his son. "His nickname was Smiley because no matter what, he would find a way to smile."
Morehead was shot and killed on April 27, 2017, in the area of East 16th Avenue and North Uinta Street. He was 27 years old.
"It's a day that will forever be in my memory," Grimes said.
Grimes was working when he got a phone call on that April day. He did not answer the phone, since he was at work, but then a text message came through.
"This text read, 'Jonathan is dead,'" Grimes told Denver7. "Number one, I'm in denial. I'm not believing what I'm reading."
Grimes said he instantly reached out to Jonathan's mother, asking what she meant by the message. He said eventually, he learned Jonathan's cousin was notified of his death. He claims neither of the parents was officially notified.
"My first instinct is to reach out to the police and the coroner's office to see if this is true. I need to see him. I need to know this is real, that this is not a hoax," Grimes said. "We weren't notified first. Yes, you did notify his cousin, but you did not notify his parents."
Before receiving that official confirmation, Grimes said he was being messaged by colleagues asking what happened to Jonathan. Grimes said his son's case was already being shown on the local news.
"Once we've seen the media's portrayal of Jonathan, the first thing you notice is that it's a mug shot," Grimes said. "Like all individuals, Jonathan was nobody's angel. At the same time, he was a human being that deserved dignity and respect. But it was hurtful, disrespectful, stereotypical and just totally, just uncalled for... It just really felt like he was discarded because he was Black, because he had tattoos, because he had what is called a juvenile record."
Grimes was left with questions about how next of kin is notified after a loved one dies, and what the identification process is like within a coroner's office. Denver7 took those questions to the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner to learn more about changes that have transpired over the last few years, which aim to better serve the families of decedents who pass through the office.
Meghan Clark is the chief of administration at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner. She has a background in victim services and was a victim advocate at the Denver District Attorney's Office before working at the medical examiner's office.
"When I saw the job opening here, I thought that was such a cool opportunity to close such a huge gap in government services," Clark said. "I was hired to be a family advocate, and my boss at the time, I think he just had a lot of trust in me and my vision for what it could look like, and so over the last four years, I have really built it out into a full functioning program."
Clark spearheaded the Family Advocate Support Team (FAST) in June 2021, which supports families who find themselves navigating the death of a loved one that ends up in the care of the medical examiner.
"It's only been four years. The existence of that service within the coroner system was pretty much non-existent. We were the first in Colorado to have dedicated full-time staff in-house working on the coroner side of things, and that is all to better serve the community," Clark explained.
At the time of Morehead's death, Clark was not working in the office.
"Before I came here, we had amazing staff who would help families to the best of their ability. The problem is, they didn't always have the time to spend with family members in the same way that our advocate team does now," Clark said. "I don't want there to be a misconception that, before, our advocates there weren't caring people, because there's always been caring people and people truly dedicated to the work that they do. You don't stay in this field unless you're truly dedicated to the work that you do. And so, our advocacy program is really just an expansion of that and that office culture that we built."
According to Clark, 93% of cases where the decedent comes into the care of the medical examiner are positively identified by their fingerprints.
"First and foremost, we're going to use scientifically proven methods to identify people," Clark said. "It's a more trauma-informed way of identifying decedents. You know, once you see something, you can't unsee it... The more appropriate place for them to see their loved one and have time with them is at a funeral home."
Clark said that their next of kin notification process is currently conducted in a very deliberate manner.
"We've probably become quicker with it. You know, timeliness is something that is very important to families, which means it's very important to us, too," said Clark. "The sooner that a family is notified of a loved one's death, the better, because they can start working on the next steps."
She continued to explain how they release identifications to the press.
"We have to have the forensic identification confirmed, we have to have family already notified of the death, and then we take the extra step to have our family advocates reach out to the family to notify them that the information is going out," Clark said. "Under Colorado law, we don't have the right to withhold that information from the public when it's been requested, but we can do our part to be transparent in what we're doing with people's information. And I think families, while some of them may not like the fact that we have to release their loved one's name, they respect the fact that we are taking the time to keep them informed of what we're doing."
Denver7 told Grimes about the policies in place at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner. He called them "positive and warranted" changes for families who are "held in the suspense of the unknown about their loved ones."
In honor of his son, Grimes created the JAM Apprenticeship, which is named after Jonathan Alexander Morehead. Grimes, who has always worked in the technology and education realm, wanted to create positive change in the lives of others when it comes to a future career.
"One of the best ways to do that was to create an apprenticeship program where you could bring actual workforce development training and give some people some hope," he said. "Make sure his name, his legacy, lives on in a positive manner."
Still, Grimes is left wondering if he will ever learn who killed his son.
"If you feel you're in a place that you can take an individual's life, you should also feel you're in a place that you can stand up and say why," Grimes said. "I understand a lot of people say, 'You should forgive,' but forgive is not on the plate. We are looking for closure."
Anyone with information that may help investigators solve Morehead's case is encouraged to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at (720)913-7867.
