Latest news with #JoeTrussell
Axios
09-07-2025
- Axios
Megan Trussell's family question investigation
The parents of Megan Trussell, the University of Colorado student found dead in February in Boulder Canyon, believe investigators were too quick to rule their daughter's death a suicide and have launched an independent investigation in the hope of getting the case reexamined. Catch up quick: Trussell, 18, was last seen leaving the CU Boulder campus on the night of Feb. 9. She was found dead near the 40-mile marker on Boulder Canyon Drive on Feb. 15. The Boulder County Coroner's Office ruled in May that Trussell, who was prescribed Adderall in 2019, died from "toxic effects of amphetamine, and exposure to a cold environment." The death was ruled a suicide based on "toxicology results and the presence of undigested prescription medication" among other factors, the coroner's office stated. Yes, but: Independent coroners told the Boulder Reporting Lab that the sheer number of pills did support the suicide finding. Driving the news: Trussell's parents requested further testing of the undigested medication in her stomach, and they said last week the coroner's office agreed. The family also gave out care packages in Central Park last Friday to see if anyone in the unhoused community had information that could be relevant to the case. Friction point: Trussell's father, Joe, told Axios Boulder he felt investigators were quick to rule the case a suicide "because that was the easiest conclusion for them to come to." He added: "I was expecting a narrative of some sort, a story … We got none of that. They basically just said, 'Suicide, any questions?'" "They had no sense of urgency, and I felt they had no curiosity," Trussell's mother Vanessa Diaz told us. The other side: Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson released a statement saying that "detectives and deputies conducted a thorough investigation of Megan's death based on the available evidence." "This was a tragic situation," Johnson stated, adding officials with both the sheriff's and coroner's offices met several times with the family attorney to discuss the case. Trussell's parents described their daughter, a film major and bass player, as a laid-back, unique, upbeat and friendly person who "packed a lot into 18 years." "She was cool; she was my little soulmate," Joe Trussell said. Between the lines: Joe Trussell said his daughter had no history of self-harm nor history of suicidal thoughts they knew of. No suicide note was found. Trussell's parents said even if their daughter was suicidal, the location and method "didn't make sense." The sheriff's office called the area where Trussell was found " hard-to-reach terrain," and her parents said Trussell was neither a hiker nor a cyclist and would have had no reason to know about the area. Joe Trussell said a friend who lives in Boulder and rides his bike in the canyon regularly went to the site and told them, "I had no idea this culvert existed. … Nothing will ever convince me that your daughter walked up here." The parents told Axios Boulder that other evidence pointed to foul play. Diaz said the pathologist was too quick to attribute facial and head injuries to the terrain and not a possible assault. Trussell was found with only one shoe, but damage on the exposed sock was to the heel, not the sole, which Diaz felt indicated Trussell had been dragged. Trussell's purse was found by a community member near the 39.6-mile marker of U.S. 36 along the bike path, several miles from her body. Her phone was sold at a Boulder grocery store on March 2 by a man experiencing homelessness who said he'd received it from another unhoused person. What they're saying: Trussell's parents said community members have shared their outrage at the ruling and the perceived lack of investigation. Joe Trussell said searching for the answer "doesn't bring Megan back," but it's a matter of community safety. "Grief is going to be with me the rest of my life," he said. "But as long as it takes, we're going to keep doing this." What's next: Though the case is closed, the sheriff's office told Axios Boulder it would reopen the investigation if new evidence warrants doing so. The Trussell family said they are looking at hiring a private investigator and getting an autopsy review as they continue their "grassroots" effort to reopen the case. Diaz has taken leave as an elementary school teacher to investigate, poring over a binder full of reports and getting billed $700 for requesting video evidence.
CBS News
13-06-2025
- CBS News
Colorado state senator pushes for new laws as parents dispute Megan Trussell case
As Megan Trussell's family continues to dispute the cause of death in their daughter's Boulder County Sheriff's Office investigation, a Colorado state senator is pushing for new legislation in an effort to support families in the future. Trussell was a freshman at CU Boulder when she disappeared on a cold February day. Search parties scoured the area where her phone last pinged, and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office got involved. After days of searching, Megan's body was found in Boulder Canyon, and months later, officers closed the case and ruled it a suicide. Since the case closed, her parents, Vanessa Diaz and Joe Trussell, have spent hours reading over the more than 250-page case file. "It's like a full-time job," Diaz added. It's a job no parent would ever wish for, but one that also allows Diaz to grieve her daughter. "Megan was very smart, very funny," she said, "She listened and she was there for people all the time." Megan Trussell is seen in a handout photo after she was reported missing. University of Colorado Police Department The Boulder County Coroner says Megan Trussell died by suicide because of the effects of amphetamines and hypothermia. Megan's parents not only disagree but are frustrated with how the case was handled. "Easiest way from point A to point B for them was to prove it was suicide," Joe Trussell said. "I mean, they followed up on a few leads. We know that we appreciate the work that they did do. They just didn't do enough of it." One point of frustration Diaz and Trussell point to in the investigation is when they found Megan's missing cell phone before deputies did. "Vanessa and her friends were basically lapping the Boulder County Sheriff's Office. They were doing a better job. They were finding more evidence," Joe Trussell said. Vanessa Diaz and Joe Trussell talk about their frustration with the handling of the investigation into the death of their daughter Megan Trussell. CBS The Boulder County Sheriff's Office declined to interview but shared the following statement: "Out of respect for the family of the decedent, we will not be conducting interviews on or off camera regarding the press release you received concerning Megan Trussell. It is standard practice for our agency to limit public comment in cases involving suicide in order to maintain a sense of dignity for those affected and to handle these situations with the seriousness they deserve." Colorado state Sen. Janice Marchman says she started asking questions about Megan Trussell's case shortly after she first disappeared. Now, Marchman wants to create more transparency about how missing persons cases and death investigations are handled in our state. "I've asked for the attorney general to take this situation, my unique experience as a legislator, and then someone who walks side by side with the family, and let's try to figure out under this lens: what we can fix," Marchman said. Marchman says her daughter also goes to CU Boulder and lived near Megan on campus. She had been in contact with the search party at the time. She's now working on new bills to address how evidence is logged, how families get information from police, and give options to loved ones who may dispute a cause of death. "(Vanessa) said she's not even being treated as a person. (She's) treated as a problem. And walking that with her in the unique role also as a side gig that I get to write some laws in the state of Colorado," Marchman said, "We're going to make something happen here so that, so that we can prevent this for other families in the future." Marchman says she's working with other legislators and law enforcement officials to create these new bills for the next legislative session. The Boulder County Coroner's Office has agreed to further analyze the pill material found during Megan's autopsy, but emphasized that the cause of death was based on what was already found in her bloodstream. A memorial for Megan Trussell is displayed near Boulder Canyon after the University of Colorado student was found dead. Her parents are calling for more transparency in the handling of the investigation. CBS Megan's parents are also looking into possibly hiring a private investigator and getting a private autopsy review, both of which community members have donated to support. "There's so many supporters, which- you know, that really gives us a lot of strength to work through something so difficult as this," Diaz said. For now, the family continues to search through hundreds of pages for answers on how to grieve their daughter. "I'm a grieving parent," Joe Trussell said. "No grieving parent wants to believe that their kid took their own life. However, if you can convince me that that's the case, then I'll accept it."
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Missing girl's death sparks mystery in the desert as parents reject coroner's suicide claims
The death of a University of Colorado freshman who went missing in the Boulder Canyon desert has been ruled a suicide - but her parents say they don't believe she killed herself. Megan Trussell, 18, was discovered four months ago in a 'hard-to-reach' area of the snow-packed desert after she disappeared from her dorm room on February 9. In a newly released coroner's report, it was ruled that Trussell died 'as the result of the toxic effects of amphetamines', with hypothermia also found to be a contributing factor as she laid in heavy snow in the desert. The Boulder County Coroner Jeff Martin also found 'undigested prescription medication' in her system that they said validated their conclusion that the 18-year-old took her own life. But while investigators say they have 'found no evidence to suggest that Megan was physically harmed or killed by another person', Trussell's parents Joe Trussell and Venessa Diaz say they do not accept the official findings. The grieving parents say their daughter's death still has many unanswered questions, including why her purse was found miles from her body, why Megan had mysterious injuries, and why she was missing a shoe that has never been found. 'We just got the impression that maybe they were either over their heads or too busy with other cases to give this case the attention that it deserved,' Joe told 9News Denver. He said investigators appeared to decide it was a suicide just two weeks after Megan was found, and officials 'rushed to judgement' instead of looking into other theories. Trussell's loved ones say they have no answers as to why she left her dorm room on February 9, as surveillance footage saw her leaving campus in dark yoga pants, a blue jacket and white sneakers. She was reported missing three days later, and her body was found in a remote area near Boulder Canyon Drive just outside Denver on February 15. Police say that when her body was discovered, it was in 'hard-to-reach terrain, requiring a technical evacuation including the need to rappel.' In the coroner's report released on Tuesday, it was ruled that the 18-year-old suffered severe hypothermia when she died in a creek near the road. Martin admitted in his findings released four months after her body was found that his investigation took longer than expected, but hoped that the 'heartbreaking' findings would bring closure to her family. But Trussell's parents say it has done the opposite, as they allege that a number of mysterious factors were not resolved by the report. 'There's too much outstanding evidence, too many strings attached [and] too many things that don't add up with her behavior with her history [and] with where she was found,' her father said. Megan's parents said they didn't know until Tuesday morning that their daughter suffered injuries including bruising on the back of her head, chipped teeth and blunt force trauma. The coroner called them to inform them of the injuries, but said he did not believe they contributed to her death, a conclusion that her parents say they are not convinced by. 'That, to me, also sounds like a struggle or something that was happening to her against her will,' her mother said. The evidence of undigested prescription pills was also called into question by the parents, who say investigators didn't look into the possibility that someone 'shoved pills down her throat and held her mouth shut with force, causing bruising on her head.' One of Megan's white shoes that she was wearing when she left campus has also never been found, alongside her phone that was initially missing. Police reportedly stopped looking for the phone as they surmised that it had fallen down a creek, but one of Megan's friends did their own investigating and found the device before cops did. They discovered that the phone had been sold in a smartphone kiosk, which was found to have been sold by 50-year-old homeless man Elliot Michael Beafore. Megan's phone was missing, but after cops decided it was likely lost in a creek, one of the teen's friends reportedly discovered it had been sold in a smartphone kiosk. Cops charged a homeless man with stealing the phone and selling it, but say he had no contact with the teen Megan's parents said they didn't know until Tuesday morning that their daughter suffered injuries including bruising on the back of her head, chipped teeth and blunt force trauma, which investigators decided did not contribute to her death Megan's family have launched a fundraiser to pay for private forensic testing in the hopes of finding new evidence that would lead cops to re-open her case However, police do not believe Beafore ever had contact with Trussell, but did charge him with stealing the student's phone and with false declarations to a pawnbroker. The homeless man told cops he got the phone from another homeless man, and investigators said they traced the back-and-forth and decided neither man had any contact with Trussell. The tragic death is now concluded in the eyes of officials, but Megan's family have launched a campaign to re-examine the case. In a GoFundMe set up by her loved ones, over $70,000 has been raised so far to pay for a private lab investigation to obtain 'comprehensive forensic testing of evidence.' A $1,000 reward was also set up for information leading to Megan's shoe, a 'critical piece of the puzzle' to determining what happened to her, the fundraiser says. The family say they hope to uncover more evidence that would force investigators to re-open their investigation.
