In the quiet, early morning hours of March 12, 2017, the bodies of 16-year-old Natalie Partida and her 15-year-old friend, Derek Greer, were discovered on the desolate shoulder of Old Pueblo Road near Fountain, Colorado. The two Coronado High School students had been shot multiple times in what authorities would later describe as an execution-style killing.
The tragic event sent shockwaves through the community and launched a complex investigation that would ultimately uncover a chilling story of abduction and violence.
Investigators believe the harrowing ordeal began over a dispute involving a stolen purse. Partida and Greer were kidnapped at gunpoint and driven around while their captors searched for a place to carry out the murders. According to a confession from one of the suspects, Natalie Partida pleaded for her life during the terrifying drive. She was reportedly given a chance to say goodbye to her family via Facebook but was unable to log in quickly enough. In the end, both teenagers were forced out of the vehicle and shot at close range.
The investigation led to the arrests of numerous individuals. One of the first to be taken into custody was 19-year-old Gustavo Marquez, who was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and child abuse resulting in death. Over the following weeks, several other suspects were apprehended, including Diego 'Casper' Chacon, 18, Joseph Arthur Rodriquez, 18, and Marco Antonio Garcia-Bravo, 20, who all faced murder charges. Others were arrested on charges related to the case, such as kidnapping and attempting to influence a public official.
In the ensuing years, the wheels of justice turned for those involved in the deaths of Natalie Partida and Derek Greer. In January 2019, Diego Chacon was sentenced to 65 years in prison after being convicted on two counts of second-degree murder. Marco Garcia-Bravo, who was also facing murder charges, later accepted a plea deal and in April 2021 was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. The motive for the killings was described by investigators as being gang-related, with suspicions that Partida had been helping a rival gang.
