On the evening of May 22, 2026, a sense of unease led a family member to a home on Harrison Street in Thornton, Colorado. Inside, a tragic scene awaited. Thornton police officers, responding to a call around 8 p.m. about several unresponsive people, discovered the bodies of four individuals. Among them was 13-year-old Asher Kieth Kub Nelimark, a male who was described by his older brother as having a big spirit and being one of the funniest people he knew.
Asher, despite his small stature for a football player, was remembered as a "dog of a kid." Also found deceased were his parents, David Robert Nelimark, 53, and May Gnia Nelimark, 49. The fourth individual was identified as 33-year-old Joey King Vue. All four had died from gunshot wounds in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide.
The investigation by the Thornton Police Department and the Adams and Broomfield County Coroner's Office concluded that Joey King Vue, who was related to the Nelimark family, was the suspect in the killings. It is believed that Vue fatally shot David, May, and their young son Asher before taking his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The motive behind the tragic event has not been publicly released. The coroner's office was still investigating the official cause and manner of death in the days following the incident. The community was left in shock and mourning, grappling with the sudden and violent loss of a family described as deeply loved by those who knew them. A GoFundMe page was established to help with memorial costs and to support the surviving son.
The devastating event left the Nelimarks' older son, 19-year-old Anze, without his immediate family. He had left for work on that fateful day, unaware that it would be the last time he would see his parents and younger brother alive. In the wake of this unimaginable loss, the local community, particularly the hockey community in which the family was heavily involved, rallied around Anze. A candlelight vigil was held outside an ice rink in Westminster to honor the memory of Asher, David, and May. Friends, family, and strangers alike offered their support to the young man as he faced a future without his parents and beloved younger brother. The case concluded with the identification of the perpetrator, who was also deceased, leaving a community to mourn and a young man to navigate his life after an immense and sudden tragedy.
