To her family, Janine Ann Johler was a loved and missed daughter and sister. To those who knew her along the Colfax Avenue corridor in the Denver-Aurora area, she was a familiar face who was well-liked. But to the investigators who have spent more than a decade trying to solve her murder, she is the victim of a brutally violent and baffling crime that has left a trail of unanswered questions from the Front Range to the Western Slope of Colorado.
Janine, a 38-year-old Caucasian woman with brown hair, blonde highlights, and distinctive tattoos of a lion on her right shoulder and a tiger on her left, was last seen at her home in Aurora on May 1, 2009. When her family couldn't reach her, they reported her missing to the Aurora Police Department on May 7. For weeks, their fears grew, until a horrifying discovery was made over 170 miles away. On June 12, 2009, a teenage employee at an apple orchard off Canyon Creek Road, just west of Glenwood Springs, found plastic bags that had been disturbed by animals. Inside were the dismembered remains of a human body. On June 19, fingerprints confirmed the victim was Janine Ann Johler.
The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office was tasked with investigating the shocking homicide. The location where Janine was found, on private property near Interstate 70, suggested she had been killed elsewhere and left there. Investigators determined that her body had been intentionally dismembered by her killer, a fact that underscored the heinous nature of the crime. Due to the condition of the remains and decomposition, a definitive cause of death could not be determined. Police noted that Janine had a history as a victim of domestic violence and was described as having a diminished mental capacity. Her life had led her to work as a prostitute along Colfax Avenue, a part of her life that investigators could not ignore.
The investigation became a multi-agency effort, involving the Aurora Police Department, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the FBI. In October 2009, a non-profit group of forensic specialists called NecroSearch International joined Garfield County Search and Rescue crews to conduct a meticulous, multi-day search of the orchard for additional evidence, bringing in cadaver dogs to assist their efforts. Detective Sgt. Don Breier of the sheriff's office stated at the time, "We have a lady [who] was heinously murdered, and we need to get the best evidence possible and get the best case put together and seek closure... for the family who lost a daughter."
In 2016, the case saw a renewed push when Garfield County Sheriff's investigator Megan Alstatt took the lead. "I’m starting from ground zero," Alstatt said, explaining her process of re-reading every report and re-examining all evidence. She traveled to Denver and Aurora, canvassing Colfax Avenue with Janine's photograph, trying to "see the world through her eyes." Alstatt resubmitted evidence for updated DNA testing, hoping new technology could reveal what older methods could not. She emphasized that all possibilities were still being considered, from a stranger or serial killer to someone Janine knew well.
For Janine's mother, Sue Johler, the years have been filled with unrelenting grief. "Pretty much the worst thing that could happen to a mother," she said in a 2016 interview. "Day in and day out we live with it, we miss her, we go on living like you have to do, but we miss her every day." Her wish for justice was simple and profound: "We know it's not going to bring her back, but somebody did this to her and they should be brought to justice."
As of September 2020, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation continues to feature Janine's case in its cold case database, and the Garfield County Sheriff's Office considers it an active, open investigation. No arrests have ever been made. A reward of up to $1,000 is available for information leading to the resolution of the case. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Garfield County Sheriff's Office at (970) 665-0222, Garfield County Crime Stoppers at (970) 945-0101, or Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867.
