On the night of July 3, 2025, 16-year-old Kaegan Wellman, a male from the Fountain/Security-Widefield area, was found shot to death inside a car on Highway 85/87 near Main Street in Fountain, Colorado. Another individual, 24-year-old Rylee Ferari, was also found deceased in the vehicle from gunshot wounds.
Earlier that evening, an El Paso County sheriff's deputy had encountered the vehicle when it had run out of gas in the middle of the highway. The driver, later identified as 23-year-old Eddie LaCharles Jackson, remained in the car while Wellman and Ferari pushed it to the shoulder. Less than an hour later, deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a robbery in the same area and discovered the car back in the roadway. Jackson was gone, and both Wellman and Ferari had been fatally shot. Inside the vehicle, authorities found multiple boxes of ammunition and Jackson's identification.
Investigators tracked Jackson to Denver International Airport, where he was taken into custody with the assistance of Denver police. He was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Jail on two counts of second-degree murder. According to the arrest affidavit, Jackson provided shifting statements to investigators, at one point claiming he shot the passengers because he believed they were reaching for guns, a claim not supported by evidence as no firearms were recovered from the victims.
Family and friends described Kaegan Wellman as a kind and goofy teenager who was quick to make others laugh and deeply caring. His family mentioned he had a developmental brain injury that made him very trusting of others. They stated that Wellman and Jackson had only met hours before the fatal shooting. A candlelight vigil was held at Memorial Park where mourners gathered to remember his humor and compassion.
