In the spring of 2020, a young woman's life was tragically cut short in an east Denver alley. Heather Perry, a 21-year-old female, was found deceased on May 9, 2020. The cause of her death was determined to be a fatal shooting. Her body was discovered in an alley situated between the 1400 block of North Verbena Street and North Valentia Street.
The investigation into her death quickly led Denver police to a suspect, 40-year-old Cornelius Haney.
Utilizing surveillance footage from the area, authorities were able to trace Haney's movements and connect him to the scene of the crime. He was apprehended two days after Heather's body was found, discovered hiding in the bathroom of a motel. At the time of his arrest, investigators also found two baggies of suspected cocaine in the toilet.
The circumstances surrounding Haney's presence on the streets of Denver at the time of the murder drew significant attention and controversy. Haney, a man with an extensive criminal history dating back to 1998, had been serving a seven-year sentence for a 2016 robbery. He was not due for his mandatory release until August 2020. However, on April 15, 2020, just a few weeks before Heather's death, Haney was granted early parole. His release was part of a 'special needs parole' initiative under an executive order signed by the governor, which aimed to reduce the state's prison population to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Following his arrest, Haney was charged with a number of serious offenses, including first-degree murder, felony murder, second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, theft, drug possession, and possession of a weapon by a previous offender. The motive for the shooting was not made immediately clear in the initial reports of the investigation. The case highlighted the complex challenges and potential consequences of efforts to manage the prison population during the global pandemic.
