In the late summer of 1979, the body of 17-year-old Kimberly Jean Grabin, a white female, was discovered in a field in Arapahoe County, Colorado, near Interstate-70 and Gun Club Road. The morning of August 18th brought a grim scene for the officers who found the partially clothed teenager; she had been brutally beaten and strangled before being left by the roadside. At the time of her death, she was last seen wearing jeans and a plaid blouse.
Kimberly, who went by the nicknames 'Shadow' and 'Shorty,' had a history of being a runaway and was known to associate with the 'street people' of East Colfax and Capitol Hill.
Investigators learned that on the morning of August 17, the day before her body was found, witnesses had observed a male and a female talking inside a light-colored car, possibly a Chevrolet Nova or Vega, near the location of the discovery. This sighting became a focal point of the investigation into her homicide. Despite the passage of time, the details of what happened to Kimberly in her final hours remain unclear, and her death is an active cold case with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.
Though her case has remained unsolved for decades, investigators did develop strong leads. One person of interest was a man who was later apprehended by the FBI for the rape and assault of a woman in Rocky Mountain National Park. This individual had a known history of violent behavior, which drew the suspicion of law enforcement in connection with Kimberly's murder. However, despite these suspicions, no definitive link was ever publicly established, and no arrests have been made in the case. The investigation into who is responsible for the death of Kimberly Jean Grabin continues.
