DENVER — A Denver hairstylist who was missing for two months before her body was found in Lakewood died of an unknown cause, an autopsy reads, but the document listed out a few possibilities as the investigation continues.
Jax Gratton, 34, was last seen on the evening of April 15. After her disappearance, her loved ones searched the metro for her.
On June 6, police in Lakewood began investigating a suspicious death after finding a decomposed body in a narrow space between two buildings along the 9600 block of W. Colfax Avenue. A bystander had discovered the body and called authorities, police said.
The following day, Gratton's mother, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, announced on Facebook that the body was her daughter. Gratton-Camis said a detective was able to identify the body by the tattoos. At that point, Gratton had been missing for about two months.
A few days after the discovery, people packed the Highlands United Methodist Church to remember and honor Gratton. State Rep. Brianna Titone read a letter on behalf of Gratton's mother, which read: "She wanted what every person deserves, a chance to live safely and fully as herself, but the world around her made that feel like too much to ask. She was trans, and she was terrified, not because of who she was, but because of what the world is becoming... She was hurt by the slurs shouted at her, by the stares, the threats, the way society told her again and again that she didn't belong. But she kept going, she kept loving, she kept dreaming of a better world."
Hear more from Jax Gratton's friends who attended a service to remember her in the video below.
Police continued to investigate this case. On June 10, the Lakewood Police Department ruled Gratton's death suspicious. This announcement brought forth a wave of her loved ones, who called for an independent oversight task force to look into the handling of her death investigation.
On Friday morning, Denver7 obtained Gratton's autopsy report, which revealed the coroner's findings about her death.
The report also reviewed a brief overview of the case, and noted that a man, whom Gratton had a history of consensual relations with, was seen on surveillance camera leaving Gratton's apartment with her. He told authorities that he had picked her up at her apartment in Denver, went to his apartment in Lakewood, and they were joined by a second man. The apartment was on the second floor. At some point, Gratton used gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, fell asleep and then woke up and vomited, the man said. The men propped Gratton up and left the apartment, and when the first man returned, Gratton was no longer there, the coroner's report reads.
Her body was discovered under that second-story window of the Lakewood apartment. The top of an air conditioning unit directly under that window was dented, the report reads, and her head was found resting on a cinder block supporting the AC unit.
The autopsy was completed on June 8. It read that the body was partially mummified and severely decomposed, which made determining the cause of death difficult.
"Due to the length of time between the decedent's death and the discovery of her body, autopsy findings that might have helped to establish a cause and manner of death may have been obscured or eliminated by the processes of decomposition," the document reads. "If her body fell from second story window of the room where last reportedly seen alive, autopsy cannot determine whether she was pushed, fell, or jumped from the window while alive, or was dropped from the window after death. Posterior fractures of left ribs 11 and 12 are consistent with any of these scenarios."
She did not have any defensive injuries, which are wounds caused when a person is trying to protect themselves. There was no clear evidence of pressure on the neck leading to her death, but strangulation cannot be ruled out, the document reads. The same evidence that could point to this could also indicate a fall from the window and onto the air conditioning unit or cinder blocks, which were just below the window, the coroner noted.
The investigation had indicated that she had used gamma-hydroxybutyric acid just before her death and was reportedly snoring before she vomited. The coroner said the risk of "asphyxia by aspiration of gastric content" increases if a person is lying face up. Based on the coroner's findings, aspiration could have caused or contributed to her death.
The report reads that methamphetamine, THC, citalopram, and trazodone were detected in her system. However, a drug overdose, or complications from drug use, could not be proven or ruled out.
"The effects of postmortem decomposition have made it impossible to prove or rule out multiple possible mechanisms of death, including complications of drug use, accidental blunt force injuries, assault by another, or some other scenario," the autopsy report concluded.
As such, the cause and manner of death were listed as undetermined.
In June, Gratton-Camis told Denver7 that she wants her daughter to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to take a stand.
"I want her legacy to be her positivity," she said. "She educated so many people. She would talk to people of all ages. She did haircuts for the homeless. She would never advertise that or post on Facebook because she felt everybody deserved to feel beautiful and clean."
On Friday, The Center on Colfax again stressed the importance of establishing an independent oversight committee to ensure Gratton's death is investigated to the full extent. They also demanded that she be "recognized respectfully and accurately in her identity as a trans woman through the duration of the investigation."
The group said it plans to attend the Lakewood City Council meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m.
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