Author: Chris Osher
-
Colorado state program facilitated release of suspect 2 months before stabbing spree in downtown Denver
The suspect charged in the deadly 16th Street Mall knife attacks was released from custody months before the stabbings because of a mental competency court liaison program that state lawmakers tripled in size two years ago, an expansion that a legislative budget analyst now says needs better data collection to ensure effectiveness. Two months before…
-
Colorado task force recommends sweeping changes to child abuse reporting laws
Colorado’s mandatory reporting laws for child abuse and neglect disproportionately impact communities of color and the disabled, and state law should specify that mandatory reporters should not make a report to child-protective services based on a parent’s indigence or socioeconomic status or a child’s disability, according to a legislative task force. The 34-member task force,…
-
Colorado child abuse case: Children placed in home with a man with violent past
After child sexual abuse allegations against a father surfaced, El Paso County child protective services officials placed two children back with their estranged mother, who was living with a boyfriend with a violent past. Another child eventually ended up with an aunt, who was living with a registered sex offender. In their mother’s home, one…
-
Defendants in organized crime case say wealthy businessman pursuing them had a secret weapon: The DA
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Blue Ocean Enterprises, an investment firm founded by the wealthy manufacturer of the popular OtterBox smartphone protective cases, was able to rely on an ally to criminally prosecute the firm’s former business partners and their associates over a failed business deal. In an arrangement one…
-
Denver Gazette reporter honored by National Headliner Awards for reporting on Colorado’s troubled assisted-living care
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Denver Gazette senior investigative reporter Jenny Deam has been honored by the prestigious National Headliner Awards for her reporting on Colorado’s troubled oversight of the assisted living industry and other elder care issues. Jenny Deam, senior investigative reporter for The Denver Gazette, won a National…
-
DNA test request denied for man claiming innocence in 2003 rape conviction
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A federal judge on Friday denied access to DNA evidence that defense lawyers say will exonerate a man whose 2003 conviction of a heinous rape at a Lakewood trailer park rape largely relied on the testimony of a former Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist who was…
-
Accusations of flawed Colorado crime lab work haunt 2003 rape conviction
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Every Saturday, the call comes in at 10:30 a.m., on the dot. Vinnie Chacon knows that’s when her 64-year-old brother James Hunter will telephone her from Colorado’s Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. Hunter has been incarcerated for more than 21 years, ever since his…
-
Over 1,000 Colorado criminal cases ‘in question’ after state DNA scientist accused of data manipulation
DNA findings in more than 1,000 criminal cases in Colorado are now “in question” due to data manipulation by former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, state officials announced on Friday when they unveiled the findings of an internal investigative report into Woods’ work. The internal CBI investigation found that Woods deviated…
-
Jury awards $21.3M in damages in Colorado custody dispute involving false abuse allegations
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A jury has awarded $21.3 million in damages after finding an ex-husband corruptly manipulated his Routt County divorce proceedings to gain full custody of his children by falsely alleging his ex-wife’s new fiancé sexually abused one of the children. The mother of the three children…