Kayleah Wilson -- Found Deceased 5/19/10

Body found in Greeley ditch near home of missing girl

Web Staff KDVR Denver
1:27 PM MDT, May 19, 2010



GREELEY, Colo. - Police were investigating the discovery of a body in west Greeley Wednesday not far from the home of a missing girl. A police spokesman said the body is too badly decomposed to determine if it is a male or female.

The body was found less than a mile from the home of 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson. The 6th grader has been missing since March 28. Reports said Kayleah's mother, April, was notified that a body had been found. A victim's advocate from the Greeley Police Dept. was at the family's home Wednesday morning.

Police say an employee of a ditch company found the body near 35th Ave. and U.S. 34 Bypass. Sgt. Joe Tymkowych told the Greeley Tribune the worker was checking the narrow ditch for any problems following Tuesday's heavy rains at about 6 a.m. Wednesday. He came to a gate and when he opened that gate, as he always does, he noticed the body and contacted police.

The ditch runs underground behind the former Kendall Printing building, behind Trinity Lutheran School as well as Sunset Memorial Gardens cemetery.

A dive team from the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority recovered the body just after 10 a.m.

Tymkowych said that area has been searched at least twice for Kayleah Wilson, the 12-year-old girl who has been missing for almost two months. She was walking to a friend's birthday party when she disappeared near the Greeley Mall.

A team from the Weld County Coroner's Office was on site where the body was found. Tymkowych says investigators planned to use dental records and possibly DNA and hair fibers to identify the body.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-body-greeley-text,0,5649937.story

Breaking News

Published: May 19, 2010
Video: Kayleah Wilson (PHOTO) Body Found

Body of Kayleah Wilson found. A naked body authorities believe may be that of a Greeley, Colo., girl missing for nearly two months turned up Wednesday in a drainage ditch, police said.

Irrigation workers found the badly decomposed body believed to be that of Kayleah Wilson, 12, who disappeared March 28 en route to a birthday party, KMGH-TV, Denver, reported.

Kayleah was last seen outside Greeley Mall, the FBI said. The ditch where the body was discovered was about 1 1/2 miles away and about a half mile from the girl's home.

Investigators said dental records would be used to make a positive identification. ABC reported the body was so badly decomposed, it was not immediately clear whether it was male or female.

Greeley police said they had not determined why Kayleah disappeared. They said they had not ruled out the possibility she ran away.



http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212302489.shtml?ref=rss

Kayleah Wilson's body identified; killer at large

Web Staff KDVR Denver
2:21 PM MDT, May 20, 2010



GREELEY, Colo. - The search for Kayleah Wilson ended with the news many expected -and feared- Thursday

FOX31 News learned through FBI sources that a body found in a drainage ditch in south Greeley on Wednesday is -in fact- that of the 12-year-old girl. Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner confirmed the news at an afternoon press conference, saying Kayleah was identified through dental records.

The case is being treated as a homicide.

"The death does not appear to be accidental in nature," Garner said.

Kayleah's decomposed body was found Wednesday morning by a ditch rider who was checking the Greeley-Loveland Irrigation Canal behind Trinity Lutheran School, located at 3000 35th Ave. The body was at the bottom of a 30-foot spillway.

"The death didn't occur within a day or two of when the body was found," Gardner said. "It occurred some time ago."

Kayleah disappeared March 28 after she left her home in south Greeley to attend a birthday party. This spawned an intense search involving more than 50 FBI agents, dozens of Greeley police and Weld County sheriff's deputies.

Garner would not reveal the cause of Kayleah's death, saying it could compromise the investigation and eventual prosecution of a suspect, or suspects in the case.

"We are already looking towards a successful prosecution of whoever did this to this girl," Garner said. "We're going to air on the side of caution...to be sure that we don't do anything to make the prosecutor's job harder."

Garner said, at this point, no family members are suspected of killing Kayleah and, with no one in custody, it appears a killer is still at large.

"We have a wide range of people of interest to us that we'll be following up on."

Garner said the FBI's offer of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect was still intact. The tip line number is 970-350-9600.

Dozens of Greeley residents, including friends of Wilson's family attended a candlelight vigil at the drainage ditch where Kayleah's body was found, before she was positively identified.

"It hurts me and I don't even know her or her family, so I can't even imagine what they're going through," said one woman who attended the vigil. "I've lived in Greeley for 10 years and I never thought anything like this would happen."

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-kayleah-wilson-found-txt,0,4936150.story

This is so sad, I was hoping she would be found alive. I'm glad they already have some persons of interest to follow up on.

18-year-old accused of having sex with 12-year-old girl who went missing, found dead this week

P. SOLOMON BANDA Associated Press Writer
4:04 PM MDT, May 21, 2010

DENVER (AP) — Greeley police said an 18-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 12-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found this week.

Sgt. Joe Tymkowych says Robert Laurencio Montoya's arrest is unrelated to the homicide investigation involving Kayleah Wilson's death. Additional details were not immediately released.

Sixth-grader Kayleah Wilson's body was recovered this week from an irrigation ditch in an industrial area about a half-mile from her house. She had been missing since March.

Authorities say Kayleah's death was a homicide and they know how she died, but aren't releasing details.

Police say Montoya was arrested Wednesday, the day Kayleah's body was discovered. Montoya faces a felony charge of sexual assault on a child.

http://www.2thedeuce.com/news/sns-ap-us--bodyfound-colorado,0,7181569.story

I was also hoping she'd be found live Piper. Hopefully they can get enough evidence find Kayleah's killer.

I'm glad the 18-year-old guy was arrested. He shouldn't have been anywhere near a 12-year-old girl.

Oh my..........

Kayleah Wilson's Boyfriend Arrested
Police: Sexual Assault Case Is Separate, Distinct From Homicide Investigation

Written by Wayne Harrison, Web Editor
POSTED: 12:58 pm MDT May 21, 2010
UPDATED: 7:14 pm MDT May 21, 2010



GREELEY, Colo. -- The search for Kayleah Wilson's killer or killers revved up Friday as police arrested her former boyfriend for sexual assault on a child.

Robert Laurencio Montoya was arrested on Wednesday but his arrest wasn't announced until Friday afternoon. Montoya is 18, Kayleah was 12.

"This arrest culminated an investigation that developed from information that probable cause existed to believe the suspect was involved in a sexual relationship with Kayleah Wilson," said Greeley Police spokesman Sgt. Joe Tymkowych. "This arrest is separate and distinct from the Kayleah Wilson homicide case that is currently being investigated."

Montoya was formally charged with sexual assault on a child and one count of sexual assault on a child as a pattern of abuse -- both felonies.

In count one, Montoya is accused of committing sexual assault on a child from Jan. 18 to March 28, the day Kayleah disappeared, court records said. In count two, he is accused of a pattern of sexual abuse of a child from Jan. 18 to March 28, the records state.

Jan. 18 was when Montoya turned 18.

Montoya is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Tymkowych said there were rumors of Kayleah's possible pregnancy but he couldn't confirm them. He said police believe the relationship with Kayleah started last fall, when Montoya was 17.

All court records on the case have been sealed by the Weld District Attorney's Office.

Kayleah went missing on March 28, shortly after leaving her family's apartment in the 2800 block of 28th Street at about 4 p.m. She was walking a short distance to a birthday party at a friend's house on the south side of the nearby Greeley Mall.

Kayleah failed to meet another friend who was going to walk to the party with her and never arrived at the party. A blurry surveillance video shows someone resembling Kayleah walking through the mall parking lot but police said it is not certain that the person in the video is Kayleah.

The birthday party was supposed to end at 7 p.m. and Kayleah was due back home by 8 p.m. When she failed to return home, her mother found out Kayleah never made it to the party. That's when she called police. It was about 10 p.m.


Police asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for an Amber alert on Kayleah but it wasn't issued because there was no proof she was in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death. -- a safeguard put in place to prevent multiple Amber Alerts going out on a daily basis, thus desensitizing the public to them.

A friend of Kayleah's told 7NEWS that Montoya was spotted walking by her apartment several days after she disappeared and he acted suspiciously. When asked what he was doing, he told the friend he was looking for Kayleah.

Police had been stymied for nearly two months because there was no way to determine if Kayleah had run away or met with foul play. There were no reports of a possible abduction or struggle in the area. With no clues to lead them either way, police had very little to go on in the search for the Greeley sixth-grader.

When Kayleah's body was discovered on Wednesday, it gave police a starting point for the investigation. When the autopsy confirmed Kayleah was killed, the manner of death provided additional information to homicide investigators.

Police said they wouldn't publicly reveal how Kayleah was killed in order to protect the investigation.

Forensic Investigation

Now, working with the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Greeley police likely have a better forensic profile of Kayleah's killer or killers, given the approximate time and manner of death and the method of disposal of the body.

The profile might help police determine if the crime was committed by someone who knew Kayleah or if it was a crime of opportunity, carried out by a stranger, or strangers, acting on impulse.

Investigators will likely look at the estimated time of death in an effort to determine how long Kayleah was alive after her disappearance. This information could help the FBI develop a detailed psychological profile of the killer. However, the fact that the body had been in cold weather and water for two months might prevent pathologists from accurately determining an approximate date of death.

Cooler temperatures might also help investigators in their search for evidence, according to a local professor of diagnostic and biological services.

"It's cold weather so there is a chance (evidence) could be preserved for a longer period of time than it would be in hot weather," said Dr. John D. McDowell at the University of Colorado, Denver.

He said the ditch water also contaminated the body, making the job of sifting through forensic evidence much harder.

It means the forensic examination of the body will take longer than usual.

"It is very difficult but they want justice for Kayleah. If that means the police have to hold onto the body a while longer, the family is okay with that," Wilson family spokesman Kristopher Poskey told 7NEWS on Friday.

Also added to the psychological profile, how Kayleah was killed. Police will also check see if the modus operandi -- commonly called the perpetrator's "M.O." or "method of operation -- in the Kayleah case matches any similar unsolved crimes in other jurisdictions.

Investigators will also try to determine where the body was dropped in the canal and if the body was clothed or nude at the time. This information would also aid investigators in developing a profile of the killer and possibly reveal if the killer was familiar with the area.

"We've got a lot of work to do now," Police Chief Jerry Garner said at a Thursday briefing. It was not immediately clear why Garner chose to withhold the information about Montoya's Wednesday's arrest during the briefing.

Behavioral Changes

About a week after Kayleah disappeared, the FBI announced a $20,000 reward for information that would help solve the case.

FBI Agent-In-Charge James Davis released a list of behavioral changes in a person that might point to someone involved in Kayleah's disappearance.

Among those possible changes that might re-manifest themselves now that the body has been found:

•Coming up with an excuse to leave the area unexpectedly for what may sound like a good reason. (work-related, visiting relatives)

•Missing work, calling in sick, asking to change shifts, particularly on days close to the night Kayleah disappeared or after the body was discovered.

•An unexpected or sudden interest in the status of this investigation. Paying close attention to the media, or avoiding participation in any conversations or activities related to this case.

•Minimizing or denying a known acquaintance with Kayleah.

•A recent display of nervousness or irritability.

•A recent increase or decrease in expressing religious beliefs.

•Changes in routine sleep patterns.

•Changes in their ‘usual’ consumption of alcohol, drugs or cigarettes.

•Shaving off facial or head hair, or growing a mustache or beard.

•No longer driving, or changing the appearance of his personal or work vehicle for no obvious reason. Leaving it parked in a shed or garage. Covering it, painting it, selling it or reporting it stolen. Giving it away.

Davis said that if an individual exhibits some of these changes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re involved in some kind of crime, but he wants the public to be aware of the possibility.

Police have also talked to all registered sex offenders in the area but will likely look at previous crimes by sex offenders that may fit the Kayleah Wilson abduction profile -- a younger girl grabbed while walking through a public area.

A tipline is in operation for the public to call police: 970-350-9600.

"We need information, even if seems like something we already know," Garner said. "We encourage people to keep calling us with information and we need everything we can get."

Garner said no one has been ruled out but investigators have nothing that points them to family members.

April Wilson has gone into seclusion as she attempts to cope with the loss of her daughter. A family spokesman said in a statement Friday that April Wilson is grateful for everything from law enforcement to volunteer searchers to the outpouring of community support expressed during the two-month ordeal.

"We all know that Kayleah is in a better place; she will not be forgotten," the statement said.

April Wilson's MySpace page was updated on Thursday. It said, "I love you baby girl. WE miss you but Thank you God (f)or the 12 years we had."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/23635628/detail.html#

Wouldn't he have been a prime suspect from the beginning? If it was known she had a 17/18 year old boyfriend and she's only in the 6th grade......where has he been since she went missing? He could have killed her because she was possibly pregnant.....

5 out of the 12 pictures are pictures of Kayleah.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504083_162-10003521.html?tag=galleryscroller

Piper wrote:Wouldn't he have been a prime suspect from the beginning? If it was known she had a 17/18 year old boyfriend and she's only in the 6th grade......where has he been since she went missing? He could have killed her because she was possibly pregnant.....

That's definitely a possible scenario of what happened. I'm sure he's at least been a person of interest from the beginning, but I'm not sure why they waited until her body was found to arrest him on the sex charges.

Kayleah's killing leaves community shaken

Saturday, May 22, 2010
Mike Peters

A 12-year-old girl is killed, her body left in an irrigation ditch in Greeley. For many, it means pulling their children a little closer, protecting them a little more.

At the area where Kayleah's body was found — in the 3300 block of 29th Street — the pile of flowers and stuffed animals grew as parents brought their children to try to explain what happened.

“The fact that it could have been a stranger who killed her worries me,” said Cassidy Montes of Greeley. “Until someone is caught, I can't feel safe for my children.”

Holly Brown of Greeley agreed, saying, “Even as an adult, I don't feel good going out by myself at night. It makes you think about what you're doing.”

Greeley police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said Friday that police haven't been able to show it was a stranger abduction or whether Kayleah was killed by someone she knew. “But those types of cases are rare in Greeley. The last unsolved missing child case we had was 25 years ago.”

In 1984, 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews of Greeley disappeared from her home. The case has not been solved, and her body was never found.

Kayleah Wilson's boyfriend, Robert Laurencio Montoya, 18, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child because of his alleged sexual relationship with the girl. The charges are not connected to Kayleah's death. Police said he is considered a “person of interest” in the homicide investigation, but no charges have been filed concerning Kayleah's death.

Talking about Kayleah on Friday, Montes and Brown were also concerned about the Amber Alert and why it wasn't used in Kayleah's case.

Police were notified of her disappearance about 10 p.m. Sunday, March 28.

“We called to have her name put on Amber Alert,” explained Tymkowych. “But it didn't meet the state criteria.”

Part of the problem is the number of runaways. In Greeley last year, there were 224 reported runaways, and there have been 107 so far this year.

At the CBI, spokesman Lance Clem said the number of runaways throughout the state would make the Amber Alert less effective.

“It would mean continuously running Amber Alerts, and that would diminish the impact of the alert,” he said.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100522/NEWS/100529907/1005&parentprofile=1001

Friend: Murdered girl's former boyfriend was 'acting weird'

written by: Jeffrey Wolf Jace Larson Kevin Torres
May 21, 2010

"Just the past couple of months, he [Montoya] was acting really weird," Kalyeah's friend, Shelly Culver, said.

Culver was in a few classes with Montoya. She says he and Kayleah seemed to like each other a lot. Around the time of Kayleah's disappearance, Culver says Montoya's personality changed.

"He e-mailed me on MySpace saying he was having a panic attack. And that he didn't want anything to do with me or anybody," Culver said. "He just said there was a lot going on and he had a lot of problems."

Read more: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=139448&catid=339

Mother says she ended Kayleah's relationship with 18-year-old

written by: Jeffrey Wolf
May 22, 2010

GREELEY - A spokesperson for the mother of a 12-year-old girl whose body was found earlier this week released a statement on Saturday on the arrest of the girl's former boyfriend.

Kayleah Wilson's body was found Wednesday morning in a drainage ditch in Greeley. She disappeared on March 28 when she left her house for a birthday party, but never arrived.

Greeley Police have said her death was not accidental.

Friday, police announced that on Wednesday night they had arrested Kayleah's former boyfriend, 18-year-old Robert Montoya, on charges of sexual assault on a child.

Court documents indicate the two had a sexual relationship as far back as October.

Saturday, a spokesperson for April Wilson, Kayleah's mother, released a statement about the arrest: "Mrs. Wilson is very clear that she 'did not know she was involved with the young man, and when she did find out about the relationship, she quickly ended the relationship.'"

Police have not named Montoya as a suspect in Kayleah's murder and say his arrest is a separate case from the homicide investigation.

He is being held on a $100,000 bond and will appear in court again on May 25.

Greeley Police are still looking for additional tips related to Kayleah's homicide investigation. Anyone with information is urged to call 970-350-9600. There is a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=139501

Kayleah's death is forcing a fresh look at safety for tweens

Chris Casey
Sunday, May 23, 2010

Kaylee Beckman, a 12-year-old who lives close to where Kayleah Wilson's body was found, said she used to walk places on her own, “but I haven't since March.”

Kaylee and other pre-teens and teenagers interviewed at the Greeley Mall on Saturday say they are taking extra safety precautions in light of what happened to Kayleah, a 12-year-old Brentwood Middle School student. They say they aren't scared to go out, but are careful to make sure they are always with someone they know.

Kayleah went missing on March 28, after she left her home in the 2800 block of 28th Street to walk to a friend's birthday party near the Greeley Mall. Her body was found Wednesday in an irrigation ditch about two miles west of the mall.

“I'm not going to go out alone anymore,” said Kaylee, as she and her friend Sloane Watson stood near a snack counter.

Sloane, 14, lives in Nebraska, but was in Greeley visiting her father. She was aware of the Kayleah case.

“I feel more comfortable and safe with a friend,” Sloane said. “I normally try to stay with a group, not try to single myself out.”

Farther down the mall concourse, a group of three teenage friends chatted. Although they are from Fort Morgan, all three middle-school girls had heard about Kayleah.

“Technically, it's just not a good thing to walk by yourself,” said Jodie Guerrero.

Raven Krehmer, 13, said she is careful about who she gives her cell phone number to. If she's not out with friends, “I always have my dad with me. If I go somewhere, my dad's with me.”

Destiny Kalinowski, 15, agreed with her friends' precautions, adding, “There's sex offenders everywhere, and you have no idea where.”

At the bus stop on the west side of the mall, Raina Alaniz, 21, sat with her cousins Christiena Conchas, 10, and Juan Conchas, 9. Christiena said her parents don't let her go out unless she's with an adult, as she gestured to Alaniz.

“You never know, it could happen to little boys and all that,” Alaniz said.

Back inside the mall, Sloane summed up what's going through the minds of many in the wake of Kayleah's death.

“Once you see what's happened to other people, you see what dangers there are around,” she said.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100523/NEWS/100529843/1002&parentprofile=1001

Memorial service planned for Kayleah

posted by Dan Boniface
May 23, 2010

GREELEY - A spokesman for the Wilson family says a memorial service has been scheduled to remember the short life of a 12-year-old girl found dead last week.

Kayleah Wilson's body was found Wednesday morning in a drainage ditch in Greeley. She disappeared on March 28 when she left her house for a birthday party, but never arrived. Greeley Police have said her death was not accidental.

A memorial service for Kayleah is planned to take place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the Clarion Hotel, located at 701 8th St. in Greeley. The service will be held on the second floor.

Read more: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=139540

Sad sad ending for a pre-teen who may have had more troubles than anyone was aware of - could be she had low self-esteem and was looking for love. She was only twelve, in sixth grade - just a child, really.

Man tied to Kayleah Wilson case in court

Associated Press
05/25/10 11:35 AM PDT

GREELEY, COLO. — An 18-year-old Colorado man accused of having a sexual relationship with a girl later found dead in an irrigation ditch is due back in court next month.

Robert Laurencio Montoya waived a hearing Tuesday to reduce his $100,000 bond. A judge set his next court date for June 15.

Montoya faces charges including sexual assault. He is accused in court documents of having a sexual relationship with 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson between Jan. 18 and the day she disappeared, March 28.

Kayleah's body was discovered last week. Greeley police have not named Montoya as a suspect in her disappearance or death.

Montoya's attorney and a woman at Montoya's home declined to comment Tuesday.

Kayleah's family planned a public memorial Tuesday afternoon

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/ap/bond-delayed-for-man-in-kayleah-wilson-case-94836204.html#ixzz0oyUxaSKT

Very sad!

Kayleah Wilson's boyfriend waives bond hearing

Web Staff KDVR Denver
2:55 PM MDT, May 25, 2010



GREELEY, Colo. - The man accused of having a sexual relationship with Kayleah Wilson, the 12-year-old Greeley girl whose body was found in an irrigation ditch last week, appeared in court for the first time Tuesday.

Robert Laurencio Montoya, 18, waived a hearing to reduce his $100,000 bond. A judge set his next court date for June 15.

Read more: http://www.2thedeuce.com/news/kdvr-montoya-kayleah-case-txt,0,4730319.story